Forget Me Not
by Misty Mina
Summary: "Leaving your partner or your team in the midst of battle to fight alone, can be a death sentence!" Prime had been so right. And Inferno is about to find out how many deaths there can be. The death of a comrade, or a friendship or of a memory. Slash IxRA
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine. Be thankful, or it would be the only thing running on Tv. ^^

**Author's note:** Ok, so now I'll post this again and hope it will stay there. After what happened, I have a new understanding for the world and how it works. There are some people out there, who give the definition** 'Spoilsport'** a new meaning. N00bs who shout out loud: I KNOW! IT'S LIKE THIS AND THAT WILL HAPPEN AND THEY WILL GET TOGETHER BECAUSE OF THIS... and so on and so on yadda yadda.

Again, so this certain girl will understand this as well. There are people who haven't figured it out or haven't thought so far. Spoiling the story like this is not only a disrespect for the work of the author, but also rude to your fellow readers. You are **NOT** doing any good by acting like a hillbilly who thinks **'consideration'** is a country or something to eat.

Now a message for the hillbilly girl: You are blocked from ever reviewing any of my stories ever again. Normally I'm a good natured person, but you certainly got on my bad side. Let this be a lesson and you better look the word 'consideration' up.

So now that I've blown off some steam on with the story.

~o~o~o~

**Forget Me Not**

**Chapter 1**  
by Misty Mina

"I tell you Prime. One day, he will get himself offlined for good, because of his own reckless actions!"

That was what Red Alert told Optimus every time he and his partner Inferno came back from a tussle with the Decepticons. This time, they were only outside to look for a spot to test out Red's improved cameras when Starscream and his Trine mates paid them a little visit.

It was strange enough that the Seeker practically showed his faceplates every time Red Alert was out of the base. One would think he'd stay away after the whole Negavator fiasco.

However, the end of the story was that Inferno acted on impulse and ignored Red Alert's orders, ...again.

Truth to be told, the Seekers fled quickly after a few well placed shots, but Inferno got badly injured. Not enough to be life threatening, but enough for Ratchet to cuss the fire truck out for a few cycles.

As much as Prime hated to dish out punishments he had to set an example for his soldiers. Ignoring orders of a high ranking officer was not going to be tolerated. Of course, there were always exceptions. Like requesting back up would be out of question or the mech in charge would be a complete idiot. But Inferno had no excuse and Red Alert was a capable security director. The Lamborghini knew protocol by spark, which said, to request back up in case of enemy encounter and to stay low until help arrived.

Optimus was at a loss as of why Inferno would risk his health for nothing. He should know the rules so far and at least listen to what Red said. Besides, they had all territorial advantages since they were in a forest. Seekers were made for aerial battles, they hated the ground and would only go down if they had to.

All in all, it was not enough for a stay in the brig, but enough to teach the fire engine a lesson.

The Prime was on his way to the med bay to inquire the status of Inferno's health and maybe to hold Ratchet back a little. He needed the fire truck in one piece, not pieces.

As soon as the doors opened, he ducked the oncoming wrench. It seemed like not even the title of 'Prime' could protect one from flying objects.

"Go away, I'm busy!" The Chief Medical Officer snarled and turned right back to his unfortunate victim. Sideswipe sat on the medical berth while Ratchet worked on the knee joints of his right leg. From Prime's position, it looked somehow twisted. He had no idea how the red twin managed to do that.

"OWWW, hey Ratchet, be gentle, will you." The red warrior complained, still a bit twitchy from the pain.

"Gentle you say? Oh, ...you mean like this?" Sideswipe howled in pain and flopped back on the berth. There definitely was a reason why the medic was called 'the Hatchet'.

"If I actually cared about being gentle with my patients, I'd never get any work done. Now hold still or this will take longer than 'you' would like!"

That was why Optimus avoided the check ups.

"Ratchet as much as I hate to interrupt you, I need to know how Inferno is doing."

Sideswiped looked a bit hopeful when the Autobot leader spoke to the medic. Perhaps he hoped for a break or that the Hatchet will be distracted enough to leave him alone for awhile.

Tough luck.

Ratchet didn't even look up from his work. He wasn't the CMO for nothing.

"Well, in my opinion, I'd put him on medical leave permanently. Since he seems to have suicidal tendencies, I'd advise a few sessions with Smokescreen. Or what would you call what he did Prime? Him against Starscream and his two glitch-heads?" Ratchet was seething and this time his rage wasn't unfounded.

"I know Ratchet and I will talk to Inferno about this as soon as possible." Optimus was really not in the mood to argue with him.

"You can start right away." Ratchet pointed to a corner with a curtain.

Not trying his luck, Optimus walked right up to the curtain and put it carefully aside. Inferno lay on the berth online and with fresh welding marks adorning his body. A few machines were hooked to his chassis, monitoring him as a measure of precaution.

"Optimus Prime, sir." Inferno greeted, not really able to salute.

"No need to be formal Inferno, we're in the med bay. How are you?" It wasn't often for Prime to have the time to look after his soldiers on a regular basis, even if he did worry for every single one of them.

"Been better, but I'll live" Truth to be told, he really felt like slag.

Optimus stood right next to the berth. There was an awkward silence before he continued.

"I'm here to ask you a few question about your encounter with Starscream and his comrades." He started.

Inferno nodded, but looked like he wanted to be somewhere else. He wasn't sure if he could answer Prime's questions. He couldn't really remember what exactly happened after they retreated since he went into stasis from the pain and energon loss.

"Do you have any idea what Starscream wanted in that area?" It was better to start with the official questions.

"None, sir. But judgin' from tha way Starscream looked like, I'd say he had a ... dispute with Megatron. Mebbe he was jus' out on patrol or to blow off som' steam." Inferno shrugged.

"What about Red Alert's project with his new cameras?" The leader continued.

"They're up and workin'!" The fire engine smiled brightly. Red Alert had seemed so pleased that his work had paid off.

"Were they out to get the cameras or destroy them?" Prime knew this sounded like an interrogation, but he really needed to know.

"No, we have just finish'd setting 'em up and were on our way back tha base when they show'd up. I doubt they even suspect what we were doin' so far 'way from tha Ark."

It was time to come to the real issue here.

"Why didn't you listen to Red Alert when he told you to stay and not engage the enemy?"

That was a question he couldn't really answer. Well, at least not 100% honestly.

"I thought, it'd be better tha get rid off 'em as soon as possible. Who knew when back up would arrive. I couldn' risk 'em getting tha advantage." That sounded like a bad excuse even to his own audio receptors.

Optimus gazed sternly at the fire truck. He guessed that this was only half the truth. However, he was not about to force him to talk about it.

"You do know that ignoring orders has consequences, no matter if the higher ranking officer is your friend or that they never requested for disciplinary measures." He really hated to do that.

Normally Prowl would be the one to discipline the soldiers. But the SIC was unavailable at the moment, because he worked with Red Alert on the strategic use of the new cameras.

Inferno knew that his buddy wouldn't request for that. He would complain and yell and be mad at him for a while but it would be fine in the end. No, Prime must have noticed on his own how often he had ignored orders from Red. It was hard to listen when his impulses drove him to take things into his own hands.

It was not reckless behavior or the need to prove himself. He wanted to show Red Alert how capable he was. Show him that he was a mech worthy to be by his side as his partner and friend. Maybe also to impress him a bit with his courage and fearlessness.

The leader let out a heavy sigh.

"Fighting for the cause is one thing Inferno, but putting your spark unnecessarily in danger is another. This is not only about disobeying orders anymore. I've noticed that you leave comrades behind! Not only Red Alert, but others as well."

The lecture was strict, but long overdue with the fire engine.

"Leaving your partner or your team in the midst of battle to fight alone, ...can be a death sentence! I don't want to lose a capable soldier due to a petty skirmish."

Inferno let his leader's words sink in. So yes, death was always an annoying comrade in war, but he didn't try to think about it. However, his leader was right. His own actions were uncalled for and could have him deactivated for nothing.

Seeing that Inferno acknowledged his mistake Optimus tried to think of a fitting punishment. Usually he would assign monitor duty, but with Inferno being the best friend of his security director, the measure might even be more of a reward.

"You are relieved of duty and confined to your quarters and the rec room as soon as you leave the med bay until further notice."

Giving Inferno nothing to do would be the best course of action. The fire engine would always have the need to do something, anything at all. Preferably putting fires out even if he had to start one himself.

Wincing slightly, but still accepting the house arrest, Inferno only nodded. This meant he wouldn't get to see Red Alert for a while. Now that was a fitting way to punish him, even if Optimus didn't know it.

With that, Prime turned to go back to his office, trying hard to slip out unnoticed by the medic who was still working on poor Sideswipe.

~o~o~o~

Red Alert enjoyed the quiet of his own sanctuary. The security room felt more like home than his own quarters did. His quarters felt so small, worse than the brig. It truly felt like being cut off from the world. In his monitor room he could still be part of the Ark's life, even when nobody would notice or acknowledge him.

There was just something missing. Or rather someone. He'd already heard of Inferno being grounded like a sparkling by Optimus Prime himself. He felt a bit guilty since it was his complaining that got his partner into this mess. He had talked to Optimus later, but their leader wouldn't give in when he requested to lift Inferno's punishment.

Red didn't mean to rat Inferno out. It was just his worry and anger getting the better of him. The fire truck just had to play the hero, didn't he? Did he even consider how afraid Red Alert was for his well being?

Of course not!

Or he wouldn't have done such a stupid thing in the first place! It still made him mad that his friend was so careless. What would Red Alert do without his best and only friend? He didn't think he could bear the loneliness he'd been through again.

At the beginning he was fine. The security director didn't know what it meant to simply enjoy someone's company. Or to talk freely to another mech without fearing they might turn on him. But meeting Inferno had changed him. He didn't think he could trust another mech like he trusted him.

It might not be much for other bots to talk, to touch or simply be around others, but for him those simple things were things he couldn't share so easily. His glitch was bad enough and his life before the Ark had taught him to be cautious.

The place where he had been was worse than the pit.

There was no such thing as being paranoid. Trusting others was equal to shooting yourself. It was a certain way to be deactivated and used for spare parts. That was his greatest fear. Whenever his glitch would act up, it would also bring those memories back and he had to use all of his willpower to ignore or override them.

It had taken Inferno a long time to gain Red Alert's trust and he almost lost it when Rumble's missile hit the bunker. But saving Red Alert from the fire despite being ordered to save himself was like an apology from Inferno for his mistake. And the Lamborghini accepted the apology, willing to give his friend another chance.

The security director hoped that Inferno wouldn't suffer too badly and if his schedule allowed it he could pay him a visit later. Being grounded does not mean he couldn't have visitors and nothing was written in the rules about it either.

~o~o~o~

_'Boring!'_ That was the only word that rushed through Inferno's CPU like a never ending chant. Prime truly outdid his SIC this time. The punishment was torture! He couldn't go and train, he was off duty and he couldn't go out to visit Red Alert in the monitor room either. All he could do was go to the rec room, get his energon and stay in his quarters. The others could only stay in the rec room for so long until they had to go back to their work or their quarters. And if Prowl happened to be there he would make sure that Inferno never stayed too long.

Luckily some bots symphetized with him and dropped by when they could, like Jazz for example. Even Bumblebee had shown up once just to keep him up to date of what was happening around the base.

He had read all of his data pads twice. (Which weren't much to begin with.) Seen all of his favorite visual tapes and even found an old board game from Cybertron in the back of his room. Slag, he even went so far as to 'clean' his room. The things one does when they're bored.

There was a short knock on the door. By now, there was no visitor who wasn't welcome in his quarters. Not even Megatron himself.

"Come in!" Was it just him or did it sound very eager?

To his absolute joy, it was Red Alert who came to visit him.

"Hello Inferno, how are things going?" He asked casually. A privilege only Inferno had earned until now. Red usually wasn't comfortable enough around others to be casual. Most of the time he was stiff and formal with them.

"Red, is good tha see ya! I thought ya forgot about meh already."

The Lamborghini entered and let the door slide shut.

"Forget? About you? Is that even possible?" Was Red's sarcastic comeback. It felt good to joke around with his friend like that.

"Nah Red, ya 're just being mean now. So, is tha visit official, or private?" Inferno just hoped his voice sounded steady at the last word and not suggestive. The last thing he wanted was to spook Red.

"A bit of both actually. I wanted to see if you've deactivated yourself out of boredom by now and I just happen to meet Prime on my way here. I should tell you something from him." Red Alert smiled a bit.

"Wha? Don' tell meh I still havta stay in 'ere!"

That even got a slight chuckle out of Red. It was a sound that Inferno cherished since it was so rare to see the security director like this.

"You don't. In fact, Optimus thinks an orn is long enough. You can start your duty next cycle." Which basically meant right next morning.

The whoop of joy was something Red Alert hadn't seen from Inferno in a while. He expected him to be glad not overjoyed. It startled him a bit, but at the same time it made him feel happy for his friend as well. What he didn't expect was to be picked up in the very next second and spun around in circles. Red Alert's glitch practically shouted out to him that Inferno tried to deactivate him. His horns sparked while he tried to fight back.

_'Why should he hurt me now? He is only happy that's all.'_

But the glitch wouldn't be quiet about it and kept attacking his CPU with accusations. The last straw was when it pulled a coded memory out of his secondary hard drive. A memory where two bots acted all friendly and hugged each other. But suddenly there was a shot and one of them sagged into the arms of the other. The other pulled a rifle out and Red knew he had shot his 'friend' right into their spark chamber. The poor mech didn't even know what hit him.

Inferno stopped himself when he noticed what he had done. Red Alert was tense and tried to claw his way out of his arms. His horns were sparking brightly and his optics were full of panic. He set the Lamborghini down but still kept a firm grip on his shoulder joints. If he let go now, Red would either hurt himself or others.

"Red! Red, it's meh. C'mon buddy. I won' hurt ya. Ya know meh, don't cha?" He could only hope it would calm him down. He really didn't want to call Ratchet and have the medic cuss him out again for being stupid.

He could see how his friend struggled to beat the glitch down and in the end the horns stopped sparking and Red Alert slumped to the floor. Inferno slid down to the floor with him, trying to keep him in a sitting position.

"I'm sorry, Red. I shouldn' have scared ya like that."

It took the security director a moment to regain his sensory functions. Powering up his optics, he looked up at his friend.

"No Inferno, you did nothing wrong. My glitch acted up and I lost control over it. You shouldn't apologize for this. I'm sorry." He didn't even dare mention that it was a bad memory that had triggered his panic. The less Inferno knew how messed up he really was the better.

As much as Inferno wanted to take him in his arms, he couldn't. Red Alert was already in a vulnerable state, doing anything now would give the glitch enough ammunition to act up again.

"That's total slag, Red! I gat carried away. I should think before actin'." He helped Red Alert up and reluctantly let go of his shoulder joints.

As much as the touch had frightened the red and white mech, he was still a bit sad when Inferno let go of him. Not really knowing what to do, he blabbed out the very first thought that crossed his data highway.

"I should go, there is so much work to do." Red Alert totally forgot that he was off duty and turned to go.

"Red!" Inferno called out.

To his own surprised his little friend didn't rush out, but remained where he was, giving him a backward glance. The fire engine was at a loss for words. He had called Red, but didn't know why. Maybe he didn't want him to leave like this or keep him from leaving altogether. He had to say something. Anything!

"See ya tomorrow?" _'Lame!'_ Inferno scolded himself.

It seemed like it was what Red Alert wanted to hear. He relaxed slightly before he answered.

"Sure." Then he simply walked out of the room. Not rushing out like he would have done a nano-klik ago.

When the door slid shut with a hiss, the fire truck took a few steps back and flopped down on his berth. Inferno sighed heavily. He didn't know why he acted the way he did. He knew that Red trusted him and would also forgive him if he really did something wrong. He even forgave him when he would ignore his orders.

So why was he always so nervous about losing that little bit of trust Red had in him?

~o~o~o~

It was only a few days later when Red Alert prepared himself to leave the base to fix a broken camera near the mountains. He didn't think he'd need back up but Prowl insisted. That's why he waited for Inferno at the entrance. He took the time to think over the visual material the camera had picked up before the screen went black. There was something strange at the edge on the monitor, but even freezing the picture and zooming in on it didn't help. It looked like a scrap of metal. It could be anything, from a Decepticon construction to simple human trash.

He really hoped it was just trash. The last thing he wanted, was to encounter some evil device Megatron had set up to destroy them all.

When he met up with his partner, they transformed and drove through the forest right up to the mountain. Things had been a bit strained between them at first after Red had glitched so badly in Inferno's quarters. But everything was slowly going back to normal and Red was really grateful for that. He didn't know if he could stand his partner's concerned stares for much longer. He would be fine, he always was.

They came close to the spot where Red Alert had hidden the camera. He didn't like the place, really. Too many options for enemies to hide. That mountain was full of caves and hidden niches. His paranoia was acting up again, but considering the circumstances and their place, maybe it wasn't really paranoia, just his experience doing the talking.

Inferno started to pace slightly. He took in his surrounds and made sure that nobody could ambush them. He wouldn't let his friend down. Not again! No matter what happens. After awhile he tried to ask Red Alert via comm. link how bad the damage was, but got no reply, only static.

"'ey, Red. Is your comm. link broken or somethin'?" He shouted to where Red kneeled in front of the camera.

The red and white mech twitched in surprise before glancing back at the fire engine while trying his comm. link as well. After receiving no reply from Inferno for his sarcastic remark over their comm. link, the security director was sure something was wrong.

"That's bad! Our comm. links aren't working. We can't call for back up and we are out in the open!" There it was again, the nagging feeling of paranoia and panic.

"So, ...we're sittin' ducks?" Inferno had heard that human term a while ago, which could be associated with helpless targets.

Red Alert didn't really get the meaning of the words, but as long as Inferno meant that they were in deep slag, he'd be right.

The security director scanned the area using his sensory network. There were faint signals on the other side of the mountain. Perhaps the reason why their comm. links didn't work.

"I pick up signals from the east side of the mountain. Let's go back to base and report this to Prowl." Transforming Red was ready to go back to the Ark, but Inferno had other ideas.

The fire truck transformed and went the other way.

"Inferno! Where are you going? Protocol states we have to report this!"

"Jus' checkin', Red. Mebbe it's just som' human radio station. No need tha get Prowl's circuits in a bunch."

"And what if there is a Decepticon army just waiting for us to make an appearance? No, we're going back!"

But Inferno wasn't about to give in.

"C'mon Red, Jus' a peek, then we can go back an' give a full report."

Red Alert sighed heavily. How was Inferno always able to convince him?

"Fine, we just take a look then make our way back to base and that's final!"

They drove around the mountain which took about twenty minutes. The Signal got stronger until Red Alert's sensory network couldn't bear the friction those signals caused. So he dimmed his sensory network to the point where it was bearable again. Now Red Alert's awareness was not better than any other's.

Transforming they both hid behind a rock to observe the situation. As Red had predicted, there were Decepticons at work. Although it wasn't an army, two or three were enough to send Red's paranoia spinning. They were working on some strange device. As far as Red Alert could tell, it was responsible for the disrupting signals he'd picked up.

"A jammer!" He whispered. Red had seen enough of those.

Thinking about it now, it could have been the thing he'd seen on his camera before it had been destroyed. So the Decepticons destroyed the camera and thought nobody would notice until it's too late. But why would they put up one in the middle of nowhere? Strategic thinking was not really his field if it didn't concern security. That was Prowl's area of expertise.

Red Alert nudged Inferno so they could retreat before they would be spotted. Suddenly a shot hit their hiding place and missed Inferno by a few inches. What neither hadn't noticed was that one of the Cons had seen their reflection in the new constructed steel of the jammer.

The fight was on!

Two Autobots against two Decepticons. A fair fight one would say. However, Red Alert was sure he'd counted three. Both Red Alert and Inferno, still hidden behind the rock, took out their weapons and tried to fend them off. The Decepticons were in the same situation as the Autobots. With the jammer around and working, they couldn't call for back up either.

Decepticons were natural cowards. If a fight seemed fair, they would retreat when they couldn't win. At least if Megatron wasn't around to push them forward. But until then, they had to fight back. Inferno had to do something about that. Or else this would go on for hours.

_'Protect Red! Show him that you can do that!'_ That was the urge that nagged him and drove him to risk his spark without thinking.

Looking around, for a way to gain the upper hand, the fire truck spotted the jammer.

_'That's it!'_ He thought.

Red Alert managed to hit one of the Cons. Not enough to deactivate him, but enough to put him into stasis. Now was Inferno's chance!

"Cover meh, Red! I've gat an idea!" He was about to leap out of their hiding place, but a servo on his arm held him back.

"Are you defect? Stay here Inferno!" There was a third Con around, he knew it!

The other Decepticon kept firing, but crept closer to his fallen comrade to pick him up or check if he was still functioning.

"Trust meh Red!" It was all Inferno had to say before jumping out of their hiding place and ran towards the jammer. The red mech couldn't get a good shot if he'd stayed in their hiding place. Now being close enough, he shot twice before the thing exploded. The comm. links where working again and he lost no time and requested back up, while trying to take cover in a niche of the mountain.

Meanwhile Red Alert managed to distract the enemy long enough for Inferno to shoot the jammer.

_'He could have told me what he had in mind! But no! He just ignores orders and has to play the hero!'_ Were Red Alert's bitter thoughts.

Now with the jammer gone, Red could turn his sensory network up again. Right in time to notice that the third Decepticon had crept up behind him. He'd used the battle as a distraction to sneak up on them. Turning on his heel, Red Alert fired!

~o~o~o~

Inferno tried to shoot the enemy again, but the Con who'd been distracted by his partner, grabbed his comrade and fled the battle. Now that the jammer was only a pile of scrap metal, there was no reason to stay. The fire truck tried to listen to his surroundings, but hearing no gunshots or other Decepticons he decided to leave his shelter.

"Did ya see that Red?" _'Did ya see meh?'_

As usual after a battle Red Alert wouldn't answer. Because he'd always claim that the enemy would use a voice modulator to lure him out.

"Aw c'mon Red! It's really meh. No voice modulator or anythin', I swear!"

The only answer he got was the silence of the mountain. So ok, maybe Red was right and, yes there were Decepticons, just like he thought. But this was overdoing it.

"C'mon Red, it ain' that bad. The Cons are gone!"

Inferno walked back to the place were he'd left his partner. The closer he got, the more he noticed something peeking out behind the rock which they'd used for cover.

"Red?"

Noticing it was a black servo, he broke out into a run. Looking behind the rock, it was the worst sight he could ever imagine.

Red Alert half sitting, half lying against the rock. His helmet cracked open, dripping energon over his faceplates and shoulder joints. But those were things Inferno could deal with. What really frightened him to the core processor was the big hole Red had right under his spark chamber where his fuel tanks should be.

A third Con lay on the ground, deactivated and with his faceplates gone. Red Alert shot him right between the optics, but not without taking a hit himself. Inferno took his friend into his arms, trying to stop the energon loss.

"No, no Red! Don' do this ta meh!" He pleaded.

Red Alert couldn't hear him. His optics were dark and he most likely fell into stasis long ago to conserve energy.

Panic tore at Inferno's spark. He'd rescued many bots, but not one of them had been so close to join the matrix like Red was at the very moment. Inferno opened the emergency comm. link.

"RATCHET! Get yar aft out here! Red has been shot!"

~o~o~o~

tbc.

The story might look shorter in later chapters, but it isn't. I've just thrown two chapters together.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine. Be thankful, or it would be the only thing running on Tv. ^^

**Author's note:** Just posting the chapters again. Enjoy. ^^

~o~o~o~

**Chapter 2  
**By Misty Mina

Inferno sat in front of the med bay on the floor, waiting for the CMO to come out and either tell him that everything was fine or that he'd just lost his best friend. Ratchet had been silent while driving back to the Ark at top speed. Usually, that was never a good thing. The medic not yelling, cursing or hurling his wrench at anyone was a sure sign that the situation was serious.

The fire truck had been waiting for hours and every minute felt like the pit. If Red Alert would deactivate because of him and his foolish bravado, he knew he'd never forgive himself.

Prime walked up to the sitting fire engine. He'd been informed about the whole incident and hoped that his security director would be alright. He knew only the important parts of the battle, but not the details. As much as he would like to know, he wouldn't question the red mech while he was in such a state.

"Anything new?" Prime asked.

Inferno didn't lift his head, he couldn't. There was no energy left after that rough battle and the shock when he saw Red Alert's injuries. But he recognized Prime's voice anyway. It was unique among them.

Optimus sighed and leaned against the wall next to the sitting mech. He trusted Ratchet and his skills, but there were always times when even his medic couldn't save everyone. All they could do now is wait for the CMO to come out of the med bay and tell them about Red's status.

Prime's presence was unsettling Inferno greatly. The leader's words were engraved in his processor.

_'Leaving your partner or your team in the midst of battle to fight alone, ...can be a death sentence!'_

He always thought the death sentence would be meant for him. Now he knew that his leader meant not only him, but also the bots who were with him. How could things go so wrong?

"Optimus Prime, sir..." Inferno started in a weak voice, yet he couldn't find the words to continue.

The Prime waited patiently for his soldier to continue.

"...I dun' know ...how much you've 'eard. ..."

Optimus was sure that Inferno meant the mission.

"...but this, ...is all my fault."

It surprised the Autobot leader to hear that. Perhaps Inferno felt guilty and was exaggerating it.

"How so?"

The red mech shifted a bit before he leaned back against the wall. Looking up his optics met his leader's.

"I let 'im down. I went agains' Red's orders!" He confessed.

That was what Optimus had suspected already. But there was no use to hold someone responsible for this.

"That doesn't matter Inferno. All that matters now, is if Red Alert will pull through or..." He didn't dare finish that sentence.

"If he doesn', ...could I ask a favor?" A bold question from the fire truck in such a delicate situation. The Prime listened anyway.

"If Red deactivates, ...then throw meh in the brig and lemme rust there."

Desperation was clearly written in Inferno's optics. Optimus was sure his soldier wouldn't even mind to be handed to the Cons on a silver platter.

"That is not helping Red Alert at the very moment. I doubt he would wish for any disciplinary measures and you know that." The Prime's calm voice was the only thing that kept Inferno from raging in the hallway, which was thankfully empty. Jazz and Prowl kept the other bots busy and away from the med bay while Ratchet did his best to save the security director.

Inferno turned his gaze away from his leader. He didn't know anything anymore. Not if Red would pull through or if he would be mad at him if he did. Or what he himself would do if he didn't. The thought alone was terrifying enough, reality would be much worse.

Seeing the red mech so miserable was a rare sight and the Prime doubted that anything could help Inferno now. But he could still try.

"I believe in Red Alert's will to live and I believe in Ratchet's skills. You should do that too."

"You better!..." An exhausted and partly energon covered Ratchet walked up to them. They hadn't noticed how the doors had opened or that the light above the med had been switched off. But the medic's answer alone was enough for them. Red Alert would pull through. That still didn't stop them from asking.

"How is he? Can I see 'im? Will..." Inferno started to babble.

"Hold it or I will sedate you!" The Medic snapped. He was exhausted and needed some high grade.

"Red Alert is far from being fine, but stable. Yes you can go and see him, but don't disturb him. Meaning: No noise, no touching or talking! Got that?" Ratchet knew how to get his point across.

Inferno didn't wait for the medic to change his mind and rushed through the doors leaving Optimus behind with his CMO.

When Inferno was out of audio range, Optimus asked the questions which might unsettle the fire engine.

"How is Red Alert really?"

"You want all the details?" There was no playfulness in Ratchet's voice.

"As much as I'm able to process. I am no medic."

Ratchet wished he could just sit down and be done with the day.

"Well if you insist. The shot wasn't that bad. His fuel tanks were still working and had a small leak. I replaced the tanks and the energon, but the little slagger almost deactivated on me." The medic was annoyed, but also glad. Annoyed that Red Alert gave him such a hard time and glad that he would be alright.

"Did he loose that much energon?"

"No, the crack in his helmet damaged a few microchips and his secondary hard drive. On the top of that, the corrupted data mingled with the self repair system. I'm also pretty sure that Red Alert had tweaked one or two programs without my knowledge or approval, which of course only added to the whole mess."

The CMO might be right about that. Red Alert was known for being paranoid beyond the usual norm for someone who'd experienced war.

"How did he get the crack? My reports state that he'd been shot and that's all." Optimus wondered.

"Make an educated guess! Red's frame isn't a heavy built like you or the Twins. The shot threw him back against the rock. Of course, the force must have been strong enough to crack his helmet. Lucky for him though, or else the shot might have gone right through him and blast his fuel tanks to the matrix." Ratchet was grumpy by now and Optimus knew when it was better to back off.

"Alright, I'll add this to the report later."

"Do you think Inferno should be disciplined? Because I think this could be labeled as an unfortunate accident." It was rare that Ratchet stood up for someone. In his opinion, nobody was at fault, well except the Decepticons of course.

"...No, ...seeing what his recklessness has caused, is enough."

~o~o~o~

Red Alert lay on a medical berth in recharge. He was hooked up on different machines and Inferno had not the slightest idea what their function was. But his friend was still here and that was all that mattered. The matrix and Primus could wait and if he had his way, they could wait forever.

Inferno could only stand next to Red since there wasn't much space left due to the machines supporting the patient. However it was more than enough. He couldn't bring up the patience to wait for the next day. He had to see with his own optics that Red would live. Inferno felt like such a great fool. He had lied to himself. That his impulsive decision would be the best course of action. That he did it to protect Red Alert.

_'Idiot!'_ His processor repeated over and over.

Protecting would have meant to stay by his side. Not to run off. Inferno realized that he'd been nothing but a great show off. Trying to impress the Lamborghini with his skill and strength and forgetting his own duty as bodyguard. After this, he would be lucky if Red could bear to stay in the same room with him again.

If anyone would have asked the fire engine why he'd tried to impress his friend in the first place, he wouldn't be able to answer that.

That Inferno could prove himself? That he was worthy to be his protector? That Red Alert would depend on him? Those were excuses. Nothing but self-righteous excuses.

Perhaps it would be better and safer for Red to look for a better bodyguard. Someone who was reliable, cautious and considerate. Everything he was not. That sounded like a good idea. He could name several bots who were more suited for the job than him. He should talk to Prime about that.

It will take some time for Red Alert to online. Enough time think about the future, ...without his best friend.

~o~o~o~

Day after day passed by and there was still no change concerning Red Alert's condition. He was oblivious to the world around him. But that didn't mean the Ark didn't have it's own problems. Nobody ever had really appreciated Red's work or his duty.

Now, since he was unavailable, the crew actually realized what he had done for them. Everyone did their best and yet, they couldn't replace their security director. The monitor room wasn't always occupied. Some cameras in the open couldn't be repaired. Wheeljack blew his lab up almost every day instead of once a week. The Twins always got away with their pranks and were bored of it and Laserbeak managed to infiltrate the base twice already. They were just lucky that no important information had leaked out.

Some Autobots stopped by when they had the time and when Ratchet would let them. Inferno came to visit Red Alert every day, regardless of time and the medic's mood. But even the fire engine's presence hadn't changed anything. Ratchet unhooked a machine whenever he deemed it safe to do so and soon only one machine was left to monitor Red's spark.

One day when Inferno walked through the base, he heard some shouts from the med bay. Worried about Red Alert, he ran down the hallway and encountered a small crowd in front of the med bay's doors. He pushed everyone out of his way, ignoring the indignant yelling and the protests until he stood inside the room. Now he knew what all the ruckus was about.

Red Alert was online.

He rushed to his side and didn't see how Red Alert twitched when he came closer. Or that he looked at him differently. He was just glad that he could finally talk to his friend and apologize for everything. The fire engine had to kneel next to the berth to be face to face with the Lamborghini.

"Red, finalle! Ya 'ad meh worried there, ya know? I, ...I thought ya wouldn' wake up. I'm so sorry. Tha's all my fault!..." Inferno babbled, but Red Alert didn't stop him.

All Inferno did was to repeat that he was worried, that he was sorry and that he'd never do something like that again. But soon even he noticed that his friend had yet to say something, ...anything at all. Normally, Red would have exploded by now and would have called him reckless, careless, foolish and that he should think before acting. However the silence was new and unsettling.

"Red? Ya ok?" Inferno asked.

The crowd behind them, at the entrance of the med bay, had disappeared, thanks to Prowl's interference and Ratchet's grumpy mood. They made their way over to the bed ridden security director, but even they thought his silence was odd.

Red Alert only stared at the fire truck with an odd look, but soon found his voice to answer him.

"...That is nice and all, but ...who are you?"

~o~o~o~

"I'm sorry Optimus, but there is nothing I can do."

Ratchet had told him Red's status, but the Prime still had a tiny bit of hope left. They were currently in Ratchet's office, trying to find a solution to the current problem. After Optimus had heard about Red Alert's data loss, he'd waited for the CMO to get his tests done and tell him the result.

Ratchet had shooed the fire engine out and told the SIC to keep an eye on him. From the look on Inferno's faceplates, he was close to pull a Prowl on him and just crash.

"Are you certain? What about a backup?"

The medic sighed. If things were just so easy. The hope of his leader was wearing on his patience.

"If there was one, it would be no problem. He never trusted me to make one just in case and the slagger had tweaked his own program. That's actually the reason why we almost lost him to the matrix. Red Alert rewrote the code for the backup program, but the code was incomplete. The order was to delete every backup file of the security system and the files of the Ark if his systems were on the brink to deactivation. Which makes sense. Imagine if we would lose him on the battle field. Our entire security system could fall into Megatron's servos."

Optimus knew this would mean the end of the Autobots and victory for the Decepticons. Red Alert's responsibility was even greater than his own. If he, as leader fell in battle, there wouldn't be any valuable information for their enemies left. All he did was organize the whole mess. But the rules were different for Ratchet, Red Alert, Jazz or Prowl. If one of them fell in battle and the Cons would be able to retrieve the data of the fallen comrade, the war would be decided.

"Why didn't he seek your advice? He certainly had a good reason to rewrite it, but I doubt he had the knowledge to do so."

The CMO snorted in disdain. A trait he had picked up from the humans, which was very fitting for these situations.

"My guess is that his glitch acted up. His paranoia got the better of him and instead of seeking professional help, he read a data pad. Does he think medics waste all their time with fixing a few dents? His code was faulty of course. Instead of deleting the relevant files, it deleted everything!"

This would certainly explain why Red Alert didn't recognize Inferno or anyone else. Not even him or Ratchet.

"The humans use data recovery programs. We should have them too, don't we?" Optimus didn't have any medical knowledge, he just guessed.

"The human's technology is primitive! Their data still leaves traces even after they delete it. Our systems are way beyond that. It makes no sense to have these programs since there isn't anything left to recover. Thankfully only his secondary hard drive has been wiped. His main hard drive is still intact. If not, he would be worse than a sparkling. Red Alert would be 'processor dead' so to speak."

This was the point where Optimus couldn't follow him anymore.

"Bear with me Ratchet, but why is this a good thing? Red Alert has forgotten everything!"

"No, not really. The main hard drive stores basics. Like the own designation, motor skills, communication- and transformation ability. It is also basic information, if the mech or femme has been build for a certain task. Like for security. Red Alert knows everything he has to know about his job. But he has forgotten the past and the present. The secondary hard drive stores memories. Meaning: he knows 'how' different things work, but he can't recall the Ark's entire system. "

It was a cold comfort, but better than nothing. If the crew members valued their friendship with Red Alert, then they would try and go from there. It may be the end for many things and it was also the beginning for something new.

"But he will never be the same again, right?" He just had to know.

The medic shook his head.

"Sadly, ...no. Like every other mech, Red's personality has been shaped from his experiences. But all in all, maybe it's in his favor, because his glitch was also on his secondary hard drive. Since there is no data, there is no glitch. He can start anew."

"...It won't be too hard for Red Alert to get to know everyone ...again. But those who know him, his old self, will have a much harder time, ...to let go." It was hard for Optimus to accept the fact, but he knew it will be much harder for Inferno.

There was nothing they could do now. Showing Red Alert what he had done for the base would be the easy part. That was something he understood. What he wouldn't understand was why everyone would give him sad or strange looks.

~o~o~o~

_'It can't be!'_ It was Inferno's only thought and the only thing to hope for. He was pacing up and down in front of the med bay after Ratchet had thrown him out. Prowl observed him with attentive optics. Ready to act should the fire engine freak out or crash down, whatever came first.

However Inferno had no such thing on his processor. He was too busy worrying over his best friend. He didn't know how long he'd paced in front of the door and he was sure the SIC was about to snap at him to calm down. But nothing happened, which was even worse. Noise, action, even stress were things he understood. Silence, calmness and uncertainty was never good. It would always upset him and make him even more nervous.

When he was about to barge into the med bay, the doors opened and out came a pensive Optimus Prime. The look in his leader's optics was something Inferno didn't like.

"Sir..." Prowl began, but didn't dare ask.

Prowl had never seen a bot with, data loss. Among their kind this phenomena was practically unheard of. There were always backups one could rely on. They actually have to delete files if their hard drive needed space. The file wouldn't disappear by itself.

Organics were different. Humans had brains which they didn't even use to their full potential. If an information was uninteresting or useless, it was a matter of time until their brain would toss the information out. It was easy for them to forget things and even forget a lifetime worth of memories. They just call it amnesia instead of data loss and unlike the cybertronian kind, humans had the chance to remember.

"Prowl, please gather everyone who is available in the rec room." It was an order.

Prime not explaining anything meant he had an announcement to make which would certainly change things on base. Nodding only, he left for the rec. room while informing everyone via comm. link.

Inferno didn't know what to say. Should he ask? See for himself? ...Did he even want to know what was going on? He was just so confused. Why didn't Red Alert recognize him?

Seeing the fire truck's confusion hurt Optimus' spark.

"Go inside Inferno. Ratchet will explain everything."

The red mech reached the door with two steps but hesitated. He was afraid to know the truth. However, he couldn't just forsake Red Alert. If he was so confused already, he could only imagine how the Lamborghini felt. He had to be strong now, for Red's sake! ...Even if it hurt his spark.

Ratchet was already waiting inside. Perhaps he had already expected him. Not wasting a minute, the medic took him aside to talk to him. Inferno could spot Red Alert but only for a moment. He was looking at him with these optics again. How couldn't he notice that the look was different?

Red looked at him, ...like he would look at a stranger. He should have seen it when he'd talked to Red for the first time after the incident. His look was empty. Empty optics that held no recognition whatsoever.

Maybe he didn't lose his best friend physically, but it certainly felt like it.

~o~o~o~

It had been dark for so long and when he left the darkness behind it was like waking up to a new world. He didn't know where he was, how he got there or why. It was like he had been created only a few breems ago.

Just to be sure he checked the files. And after the first check he noticed that there weren't many to begin with.

**Designation:** Red Alert

**Build:** Security Unit

**Faction:** Autobot

**Alt Mode:** Lamborghini Countach LP500S

**Transformation module:** operational

**Motor Skills:** 100% functional

**Communication Data:** 100%

**Energon:** 70%

The rest wasn't really important. Just a few stats. It had nothing to do with his surroundings. The medic, at least he guessed he was one, asked him different questions. ...Why couldn't he recall any designations? Not the medic's nor the mech who had talked to him?

That red mech had talked to him in a way like he would talk to a friend or someone he really cared for. Red was sorry that he couldn't remember him. He seemed nice.

He had tried for several times now to access anything. Yet he always reached a dead end on his data highway. There weren't any memories left! He would have been ok if he'd found a virus, it would explain his state. But he was met with empty, nameless files.

How was he supposed to go on now? Was he at home? Among friends? They weren't enemies or they wouldn't bother to care for him. He had so many questions. Red Alert could only hope that the other two mechs had all the answers he needed.

It had been a long time since the medic took the other bot aside to talk to him. If Red was not mistaken there had been a sound which he would interpret as a sob, but he wasn't sure.

When the two came out, they had different looks on their faceplates. The medic was not really happy but far from being sad. One could call his look almost neutral. The other however, was clearly distraught. Like, ...he had lost something precious.

They made their way over to him not really saying a single word. It would be interesting to know what exactly they had been talking about.

"Red Alert..." The medic started.

"I am Ratchet, the Chief Medical Officer." Not much but it tells him that he's on a base. Maybe on Cybertron or maybe somewhere in the universe.

"What happened?" This was the question which bothered Red Alert the most. Why was he among strangers? Why weren't there any files left of the bots around him?

The red mech looked away from him as if he felt guilty of something.

"You had... an accident. You have lost all the data on your secondary hard drive, due to your injuries,."

Red Alert looked down and let the news sink in. He was no medic, but even he knew now why he couldn't remember anyone. How was he supposed to pull data from an empty hard drive? The confusion, he felt, started to mingle with fear. He had no idea where he was, who the other bots were or how he was supposed to act.

"...Is there, ...a way to get it back?" Red meant not only the data, he meant his whole life.

"I'm sorry but, ...no. I have no backup from your hard drive. You've always refused to have one made."

Which was true. Backups were measures of precaution. One could make them if they wanted to, but it was not mandatory by rules. Red Alert had always been too paranoid to make one. Saying things like Ratchet would want his job or sell the data to the Decepticons. Utter nonsense of course, but the medic couldn't convince him otherwise.

Red Alert couldn't really comprehend his decision. Why in Primus' name had he refused? Wouldn't it be better to have one even if it was old? At least he wouldn't feel so helpless like he did right now. Perhaps he had been too optimistic when he refused. Or he was just too careless? Anyway, he had to deal with the consequences now. There was no use to regret something he didn't even remember.

"...What now?" Red asked. He didn't know how to go from there.

"I'll do anythin' I can ...tha help ya." It was the first time the red mech beside the medic has spoken since they came out of the office.

Even if his voice sounded insecure and shaken up, Red Alert could hear the sincerity in it as well. There was just one thing he still needed to know.

"Then, ...could you, ...tell me your designation please?" Red knew he sounded awkward. He felt a bit ashamed of himself, since he was the cause of the other's sadness.

The other drew a heavy intake of air through his vents.

"I'm ...Inferno." He answered while his face fell.

Red nodded, finally he had a designation, but that still didn't tell him who exactly the other was. However he didn't dare push Inferno more than he already had. He couldn't really imagine how others felt about his data loss, yet he didn't think it was easy to handle. The medic, Ratchet, lay a comforting servo on his shoulder.

"Inferno will bring you to your quarters and tomorrow, he'll show you around the base. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!" This was clearly no advice. It was an order, at least to Red Alert's audios.

There wasn't much he could do than obey. If he'd try to find his way on his own, he'd get lost as soon as he would leave the med bay.

When Red Alert got up, Inferno was by his side , helping him to get off the berth. His joints felt stiff after such a long time of disuse. Holding onto Inferno's a arm, the Lamborghini made a few hesitant steps. It felt strange to rely on help when walking was something he took for granted.

Inferno didn't let go of him, not once, which he was really grateful for. Red Alert felt insecure and the other's firm hold gave him something to lean on, not only in the physical sense.

They made their way to his quarters and thankfully there was nobody in the hallways. Red wouldn't know how to act if somebody were to greet him and he wouldn't even recognize them. He was sure, things would only get more complicated from now on.

It didn't take long and they stood in front of a door. Red felt a small surge of panic rise.

He didn't even know the code for his own door!

But Inferno had a solution for the problem. He entered the code without thinking.

_'So, he'd been in my quarters before.'_ Red concluded and he was certain it was not only once. He entered the room with Inferno right behind him, but what he discovered was not what he expected.

~o~o~o~

tbc.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine. Be thankful, or it would be the only thing running on Tv. ^^

**Author's note:** Just posting the chapters again. Enjoy. ^^

~o~o~o~

**Chapter 3**  
By Misty Mina

The room, on the other side of the door, was practically empty. Every room, on the Ark, had the same furniture: a berth, a table and a chair. It was up to the soldiers to decorate their quarters and to give it a personal touch. The things that showed the bot's character, like personal belongings, hobbies or old holographic pictures.

Red Alert's room held only the necessary furniture and nothing else. Like nobody had lived in there for stellar cycles. No hobbies, no collections, no holographic pictures. Nothing. The room was as empty, as his own hard drive. Not a single hint of who he'd been.

A sheen of dust could be seen on the berth and the table. A sign which showed that the security director hadn't been in his quarters for a long time, even before his accident.

The Lamborghini entered his abandoned quarters with tentative steps. He'd hoped that at least his spark would recognize his surroundings. But he had no such luck. The room made more the impression of a broom closet, it didn't feel like a place he would return to willingly.

Looking around in the hopes to find something hidden from his optics, he spotted a desk drawer. He reached out with a shaking servo and opened it. Maybe this time he'd find something useful. His hope had been crushed when the only thing in the drawer was a datapad with a broken screen. Broken, ...and useless.

Dejected by the revelation that he wouldn't find anything in this room, he shoved the drawer back to close it. He couldn't really explain this. There had to be something, ...anything at all! Looking back at the mech, Inferno, who'd escorted him back to his quarters, he figured the only way to learn of his past was by asking others.

The thought wasn't really appealing, but he had no choice. If Red Alert, ...the old Red Alert, never wanted to be reminded of the past, ...then maybe others would remember for him.

~o~o~o~

Inferno knew that Red Alert never spend much time in his own quarters and avoided it whenever he could. Maybe he should have told his friend that, but even he didn't know the reason. Just the fact that he didn't like it. The fire truck had been invited by his friend a few times, but the room had looked the same each time.

Ratchet had instructed him to be careful and not give Red Alert too much information for the moment. It could lead him to freeze up or even worse, to crash. The amount of new Information was overwhelming already, even without his help. Red needed time. Time to adjust and to get to know everyone, himself included.

When Red opened the drawer, Inferno had been surprised. It isn't ...wasn't in the security officer's nature to be so careless. But seeing there was only a broken datapad, he knew why. Not even Red Alert was paranoid enough to hide a useless datapad, which would never work again. Not even if he gave it to Wheeljack to repair it.

The sadness in Red's optics was tugging on his spark. He'd never seen his best friend like this.

So lost.

When Red looked at him, it was like looking at a kicked Turbofox.

Ratchet had warned him, but he couldn't just leave him like this.

_'...frag Ratchet!'_

"Ya don' have tha stay 'ere. Ya can stay in my quarters, if ya want. Wouldn' be tha first time." Well ok, it was not really a lie. Red Alert had stayed once over night, but only because he'd dropped into recharge while waiting for Inferno to write his report.

A normal mech, would be suspicious by the offer, but a mech who'd lost everything had nothing to lose. A grateful look fluttered over Red's faceplates before he nodded.

"But only if you don't mind." He added as an afterthought.

"I don', ya're always welcome."

Inferno felt two conflicting emotions at the same time. Joy and sorrow. If Red Alert would have trusted him this much before this all happened, he would have been euphoric. But seeing how easily Red trusted him now was sparkbreaking. He would trust everyone like this. Even the twins. He would never again say anything about possible threats from the enemy or claiming that the twins were just out to get him.

This was not the Red Alert he knew. Not his best friend. This was a new Red Alert and that meant to say goodbye and bury everything he knew about his buddy. Would they still be friends when Red got used to everyone? Or would the security officer choose someone else over him?

No! He would not go down without at least trying to restore their friendship!

The fire truck offered his servo to Red. If he wanted, he could hold onto him if he still felt insecure. The red and white mech took it without hesitation, which only added to Inferno's mix of joy and sorrow. The old Red Alert didn't like any form of physical contact. It made his glitch act up. Now he took an offered servo without thinking twice.

Perhaps Inferno was just selfish. Maybe he should be happy for Red Alert. The glitch, which had made Red's life so much harder, was gone! There wouldn't be any painful attacks anymore. No more paranoia and no more constant fear.

Yes, he should support him! No matter what he thought or felt, Red Alert should be his first priority! He had been injured because of his recklessness. The least thing he could do was to help him in every way he could!

With his mind set, they left for Inferno's quarters.

~o~o~o~

It felt good to know someone was looking out for him. At least that's what Red Alert assumed. But he didn't know if Inferno did this only because he was ordered to, or of his own free will. And yet, he couldn't imagine that the medic would instruct the fire truck to take the patient to his quarters.

Maybe it was just his own helplessness, but holding onto this mech and knowing he cared, even if it was just a tiny bit, made him feel safe.

The trip was short, too short where Red was concerned. Before he knew it, the door opened with a hiss. Inferno let go of his friend's servo, politely offering him to go first.

The Lamborghini looked around. Now this was a place he'd call normal, even cozy. Not like his own. The furniture was the same and yet they had all a certain touch to them. Inferno's berth had a few scratches, his chair had a bent armrest and on his desk were a few datapads and two empty energon cubes.

To others, it might have looked old or messy, but to Red it looked 'lived in'. A place somebody actually occupies! A place he wouldn't mind returning to, because it would mean he could come back to someone.

"Ya can 'ave the berth. I don' mind and ya should get some recharge. Or Ratchet might throw somethin' at meh tomorrow." Inferno took a seat in the chair and tried to sort through the datapads on his desk.

Red Alert looked stunned for a moment.

"What? I can't just take your berth..." Red Alert protested with wide optics.

"Is ok, really. I think, I won' get any recharge anyway. There're some reports I still havta do." Which wasn't a lie.

During the time when his friend was still in the med bay, Inferno didn't get much work done. He'd been too worried for Red's health. Besides that, Prowl might have his skid plates if he wouldn't finish those reports soon.

"Is that really ok?" Red asked, still uncertain about the offer.

"Yeah, don' worry about it." The fire truck started working on the first datapad.

Red Alert walked slowly to the berth, still taking some time to look around. Once he made himself comfortable he watched Inferno working on the reports for a few breems.

Soon curiosity won over politeness, he just had to ask some questions. This mech acted much too familiar with him to be a mere comrade who happen to stay on the same ship.

"Inferno?" He tried call out the others designation for the first time.

Said fire truck felt a cold shiver run through his circuits. The way Red called him was different. To hear this voice, which he had heard a thousand times, call him in this tone made him truly feel like a stranger.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ...ask you a few things?"

Inferno knew this would come sooner or later. He just hoped Red wouldn't ask about the 'accident'. The courage to tell him what exactly happened would fail him the moment he would look into those questioning optics.

"You are acting like you know me well. ...Are you, ...a friend of mine?" Truly embarrassed for asking this, Red ducked his head slightly, not daring to meet Inferno's optics. He was too afraid of what he might see in them.

It hurt. Inferno never thought a question could ever hurt him like that.

"Yeah, ...I am." He didn't really want to tell him that he was the only friend he had. It might upset the Lamborghini unnecessarily.

Red let it sink in. To know that he was with a friend made him feel better about the situation.

"Are we close?" The question was innocent enough.

However, it stung the red mech like someone would use a hot nail to poke at his spark.

_'Primus, this is torture!'_

"Ya, ...ya're my best friend." He answered truthfully.

This hurt even Red Alert. He hadn't thought about it before. But now, after hearing this, he asked himself how many bots he still had to hurt with his questions before he himself and others could move on.

Trying another topic to not further hurt his 'friend', Red asked about the ship, the planet they were on, what they had done here and about other things until he drifted off into recharge.

When no questions came, Inferno looked up. Seeing Red Alert recharging like this felt almost like the whole fiasco hadn't happened. He remembered the last time Red had been in his quarters.

Inferno had been grounded and the smaller mech came to visit him.

_"Red, is good tha see ya! I thought ya forgot about meh already."_

_"Forget? About you? Is that even possible?"_

Inferno switched off the datapad and put it to the others on his 'done' pile.

_'Yeah Red, ...it's possible.'_ He thought sadly.

~o~o~o~

It didn't take long and soon the whole base knew what had happened to their security director. There was no one who didn't care about it. Data loss was a cybertronian equivalent to being erased. Most pitied Red Alert, others felt real sadness, because they had been forgotten by a good comrade. Many didn't even know what to do, should they try to remind him? Tell him everything they knew? Or should they act as if Red was a new member?

Ratchet's advice was to introduce themselves first and maybe tell things out of the past later when Red had settled in.

One wouldn't think it, but even the twins felt sorry for their fellow Lamborghini. Sunstreaker may be a self-centered aft most of the time, yet he knew he couldn't bear it if his twin ever forgot him as if he'd never existed. Sideswipe felt the same. If Sunstreaker would forget about him, ...who would he talk to? Who would fight with him? Who would listen to him or help him with his pranks?

It wasn't often that the red twin had deep thoughts, but he had them right now. Sunstreaker could feel his musings and decided to wait for his brother to voice those thoughts.

It was late in the evening when Sideswipe thought he should tell his twin what had been on his CPU. His brother sat on the edge of their berth. Too busy polishing his plating and not really paying attention to his other half.

Sideswipe sat in the center of their berth, he leaned a bit forward to talk to his brother.

"Say Sunny..." He started.

Sunstreaker paused, not really pleased about the nickname, but since he was in a good mood he let it slide.

"...I've been thinking. You know the seekers always comes in threes, right? They are a trine. So, I guess, ...we'd stand better chances against them if we had a third member too, don't you think?"

The yellow Lamborghini dropped his polishing cloth. True enough they had problems since together, they could only take two seekers at a time and couldn't keep an optic on the third. Sideswipe had a point, but there was a problem.

Sunstreaker frowned. "And who? It's not like anyone else practices jet-judo. Besides that, nobody can keep up with us." He leaned down to retrieve his polishing cloth.

"Not like that. They should look out for the third seeker, maybe instruct us from the ground or from the sidelines. Keep an optic on the battle, you know?" He explained.

It didn't sound like a bad idea, but Sunstreaker didn't really like to work with other bots except for his own brother.

"Are you telling me who, or do I have to guess?" The yellow twin asked impatiently.

The red Lamborghini leaned back in case his brother would lash out.

"How about Red Alert?"

Sunstreaker thought he heard wrong. He turned around to look at his brother.

"Are you out of your processor? Or are my audio receptors fried? Red Alert? The paranoid, glitchy, cork-in-his-tailpipe security director?" He asked with wide optics.

Seeing his brother hadn't tried to strike him yet, Sideswipe leaned forward again.

"Ex-paranoid, ex-glitchy and ex-cork-in-his-tailpipe security director. It's not like he remembers how he had been. Besides, he is a Lamborghini as well. So that would make us the Lambo-Trine." He corrected.

Sunstreaker had to admit he hadn't thought about it that way. Red was different now. No conspiracy theories, no glitch induced accusations and he even smiled more often. And perhaps there were even some upsides as well. Maybe Red would turn a blind eye on their harmless pranks and provide them with a bit of blackmail material as well.

Sideswipe knew he had his twin where he wanted him as soon as the other set the polishing cloth aside. He crawled forward until he leaned against his brothers back. It was comforting to feel his brother so close to him.

"I know you miss it, so do I. The feeling that someone else cares for us."

The yellow twin didn't protest. His brother was right somehow. It had been a long time since someone cared for the both of them. Watched out for them. Made them feel safe.

Both of them were still very young. They were barely out of their youngling frames when the war started. Their creators were killed in the war and suddenly, they were alone. Sideswipe hid his loneliness by playing pranks, while Sunstreaker kept to himself. Always saying he wouldn't need anyone else besides his brother. Denying the emptiness he felt from time to time.

A black servo came to rest on a yellow shoulder. Sideswipe reached out to his other half through the bond they shared. They were twins who shared the same spark. One being, trapped in two different frames.

Sunstreaker could feel the memories of their past rising from the depths of his hard drive.

_A silver sparkling cried, wailing because his twin had broken his paintbrush. He couldn't draw anything anymore and the surface of the pad remained empty. His creator refused to give him a new one, why he didn't know. Had he been bad? But he didn't break anything, not like his also silver brother did._

_Suddenly a servo a bit bigger than his own dipped into the color. Then it drew a red line over the pad. He stopped crying and looked with fascinated optics how the finger dipped into a different color and drew a circle._

_Now he understood and mimicked it. His servo was so tiny it dipped fully into the color. Then he patted the surface once and saw a green servo print._

_His own servo print!_

_Delighted by the result, he repeated the print over and over again, giggling to his spark's content._

_He looked up when the other's servo stroked his helmet in an affectionate manner._

The yellow twin cherished this memory, not once thinking about deleting it. It was hard to remember the own sparkling hood since the processor and hard drives were still new at that time. He could remember feelings and one or the other situation, but other bots were always blurry. Sunstreaker couldn't even remember how his own brother's protoform looked like.

Sparklings had no paintjob and were all silver in their protoform, they would get their first paintjob when their creators would settle on a designation for their offspring. Sometimes creators took their time until their sparkling would be upgraded into a youngling and then give them a fitting designation.

Sunstreaker had a small secret. His paintjob was his pride, but as narcissistic as he may be, he wouldn't care about that when he was working on a new painting. Nobody knew that his best paintings were those which he'd finger painted. He'd learned that he could paint with everything. His brush, his servo, a pen, a cloth, there was no limit to his possibilities.

Sideswipe had similar memories.

_The small sparkling started to whimper. He had hurt himself and his creators brought him to a strange place. There where many bots and one of them took him aside and weld the cut he had. Now he was at home again and started picking on the new weld, which the strange bot had made. There were still black scorch marks on the metallic surface, but he couldn't get rid of them. It hurt when he tried to rub it off._

_His femme creator hadn't noticed and left without tending to it._

_When he was about to cry for his creator, a bigger black servo appeared holding a white cloth. It gently rubbed over the scorch marks, careful not to hurt the sparkling. Soon the nasty black spots were gone and the metal was shiny again._

_He clicked and cooed gratefully, hugging the servo which was still in reach._

Even if they would never admit it out loud, they wanted someone to care for them. Someone who was worried about their well-being. Someone they could trust. Their first thought was their medic, but Ratchet was too old to understand them. Besides that, he worried for everyone, not only the twins.

If Red Alert hadn't been so glitchy and paranoid, they would have considered the option much earlier. But since the security director saw a Decepticon plot in everything, the idea was out of question. Both couldn't trust someone who saw an enemy in them and Red would have never trust the twins in return.

Now, after Red Alert had lost his memories and his glitch, he was closer to 'normal' than ever. The idea sounded good again.

All they had to do now was to befriend the new Red Alert and make him part of their own family. Another brother didn't sound so bad.

~o~o~o~

Inferno sat in the rec room, with a cube of energon in his servo, not even acknowledging the other mechs around him. Things had changed and he didn't know if it was better or worse than before. Red Alert had cleaned up his quarters the very next day. The dust was gone and some mechs gave him a few trinkets to decorate his room. Even one of Sunstreaker's rare paintings was among it.

Well and there was the problem. Sunstreaker was being nice. Nice enough to give Red Alert a gift. What surprised him more was that it wasn't a prank. It looked like some sort of peace offering from the twins. They talked so casually to Red as if they'd never done anything else. As if he was one of them now. Of course, they shared the same Alt-mode, but as far as he was concerned, that was all. They had nothing in common.

So why was Red Alert so attached to them? Or anyone else for that matter? Inferno had seen the way his best friend acted around others. It was far from the way he used to be. He was really socializing with others. Almost as good as Jazz.

The fire truck sighed. Partly he was glad. It was, what he had always wanted for Red Alert. To mingle with the crowd. To show that he was also part of the crew. And yet, Inferno didn't really want to let go of him. Letting go would mean losing him. A selfish thought, he knew.

Red Alert spend less time with him and more time with others. There was not much room for him between Red's duty and his free time.

It was hard to admit it, but Inferno was a bit self-centered. He wanted Red Alert to spend time with him and him only. No others around. Just him and his, ...maybe now 'ex-best' friend. He was still his friend, but he'd never be his best buddy again. Not with so many sharing the Lamborghini's time.

Was he jealous? Perhaps, even if he didn't know if it was because of the other mechs or the fact that he had to take a back seat. It felt like they were growing apart.

Maybe it was for the best. The whole thing wouldn't have happened, if he'd done his job! If he'd just listened to Red for once. So Inferno had no one to blame but himself.

If the twins liked Red Alert, maybe they could do his job. ...They were stronger than him, they knew how to fight, could take on a seeker and Red would make a good deal. ...Take one, get one free.

Things were changing and he had to accept it. His best friend was different now. Perhaps he would have been like that all along if it hadn't been for his glitch. The red mech had always been curious about who Red had been before he'd developed the glitch.

Now that he knew, ...he missed the old Red Alert.

The new Red did his duty, but he'd lost his passion for his job. Now it was more like a task he just had to do.

And sure Red checked all the cameras, but his old self would only rest if he'd reassured himself that everything was safe. Now he only checked once and it seemed to be enough.

Also whenever Inferno left the base for battle or patrol, Red didn't tell him three times to be careful anymore. Or remind him that he couldn't let his guard down, because it would certainly be a trap. Instead, ...last time, when he went for a walk, he said: 'Have fun!' ...Not really something the fire engine wanted to hear. No matter if he would leave the base for a battle or for a walk. They were at war!

There was a time when he would have liked for Red Alert to be relaxed and more approachable for others. Now, ...now he would give everything to have the old, paranoid security director back.

~o~o~o~

Red Alert had cleaned his room, had many bots introduce themselves to him, done his monitor duty, repaired a few cameras in the base, got to know the twins and learned one or two things about this planet called Earth. All that in an orn, ...or a few earth days. And he had yet to spend some quality time with Inferno.

It was something which excited and frightened him at the same time. He really wanted to get to know his 'friend', but he was also nervous. It was not every day that one has to get to know his best friend again.

He had seen Inferno on several occasions. But something always came up. Either Inferno's or his own duty. Normally he would love to do his job, yet he couldn't focus. The fire truck had been on his processor more than once.

His character, the way he held himself, his friendly nature, ...it was intriguing. The twins had already noticed and he couldn't get the red twin to shut up. Because Sideswipe's newest obsession was to rile Red Alert up with singing that 'Someone has a crush'. He wasn't really angry about Sideswipe's antics, just a bit annoyed.

Was it really a crush? Or was he just fascinated? Red didn't know and he certainly won't ask someone else about it. Maybe he'd find out later, after all, good things come to those who wait.

Which reminded him of his last talk with Ratchet. The medic still insisted on checking his progress, just in case. Perhaps he was afraid that all the stress could be enough for a crash. But Red didn't think so. In fact, from what he had heard from others, he guessed he had made a change for the better.

He had asked Ratchet about this, of course. Were they right? Or were they exaggerating? Had he really been so paranoid as to think the enemy could hide in a storage box much smaller than himself?

The CMO could only confirm this.

It felt strange, ...to know that others were talking about him and didn't really mean 'him'. It was like standing beside yourself. Like they were talking about another Autobot who was just ...gone. And they didn't even seem to miss the 'other' Red Alert. A deactivated bot who nobody mourned for. Forgotten and dumped on the scrap heap.

Thinking about it now, Red Alert guessed that his data loss was a stroke of luck. He had more friends now, he was actually a bit popular and perhaps this would also boost his private life.

Inferno would surely like someone who could keep up with him. Someone who didn't think their own shadow was a Decepticon or jump from a small touch.

Someone who was normal.

~o~o~o~

tbc.

(who is that tbc. Guy anyway? XD )


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine. Be thankful, or it would be the only thing running on Tv. ^^

**Author's note:** Ok, here is the new chapter. It took a while, but I had so much to do. Then there is something else I have to say.

**Yoru Hana1:** No, it was not you. Speculation is fine. When somebody says, 'perhaps', 'maybe', 'I think'... , but like I said in the author's note of chapter 1, that n00b really shouted out everything. Worst of all, I couldn't delete their review since they used their account. So I had to delete my story and all my precious reviews. T.T I've send them a note already, don't worry. Next time you want an answer to a question you should enable your pm option. I couldn't send you one or you would have gotten your answer sooner. ^^

On with the story. ^^

~o~o~o~

**Chapter 4**  
By Misty Mina

The sun stood high in the sky when Red Alert decided it would be a good idea to fix some of the broken cameras outside. And if he had his way, he'd be driving there already. But Prowl insisted that he shouldn't leave the base alone. Now really, the cameras weren't so far away, what was the worst that could happen? The tactician didn't even tell him who would accompany him.

Maybe the twins? He'd got to know them over time and he had to admit, Ratchet had been right. They could be a servo full when they wanted to be. However he had to admit that even if they pulled one or two pranks, they had changed.

They came to him with their problems, most of the time trivial ones. Sometimes one or the other would ask for advice or just had to get something off their chassis. When the two of them argued, Red made sure they would make up later.

Sideswipe was calmer, less annoying and started to act more mature. Sunstreaker was less aggressive and even tried to socialize. Ok, so he was talking to Bumblebee and Bluestreak, but at least he was talking to other mechs besides his brother.

Whatever those two were missing seemed to have been found when Red Alert looked out for them. There were times when Red felt like an older brother. A good feeling considering he didn't have any memories left of his own family.

But, ...judging from his bare room, maybe there was no family, or there were no good memories at all.

There was still the broken datapad. Inferno had told him to let the engineer fix it, ...Wheeljack was it? An advice which he'd given when Red had asked him via comm. link. Following the advice, he let Wheeljack take a look at it. But the inventor couldn't really help him. When the other shook the datapad, the components inside were rattling. Still, he promised Red Alert to at least try to get some data out of it.

Red hoped to find a hint of his own past. Some holo pictures maybe, a recording or even a message would do. Anything to explain his own actions. Why was he so, ...so mysterious? Or rather characterless.

Where did he come from? What had he experienced throughout his existence? Did he have a family? A Mate? Siblings? Where his creators still alive? And why, ...did his old self never bother with those questions?

From what the twins told him, nobody really knew Red Alert. Not even Ratchet or Optimus Prime. Cliffjumper had even accused him of being a spy once. Then again, the red minibot thought that most of the crew were traitors. Starting with Mirage and ending with him.

The only one who could tell him more would be Inferno. His best friend. The one who had been always by his side according to others. Sideswipe also mentioned that one time, the fire truck had to literally drag him back to his own quarters when he refused to recharge.

A friend like him was truly rare. Someone who overlooked his flaws. Who had listened to him, no matter how paranoid he might have sounded. And who would do things for his own good, despite if he himself agreed to them or not.

Was it really so farfetched if he wished that the fire engine would look a bit differently at him?

Oh well, 'what if's' and 'when's' wouldn't get him anywhere. He would and definitely will talk to Inferno, no excuses anymore! Not from Inferno's or his own side.

Now where was the slagging backup? He'd been waiting for fifteen breems already.

Tired of waiting, Red Alert checked his rifle then transformed and drove out. Now really, it was a fine day and he had perhaps two or three cameras to check which weren't so far from the base.

Even the military forces of this planet seem to think the same since they let their planes fly freely through the sky. But those aerial machines looked all the same to him anyway.

Since Red Alert didn't knew the difference, he didn't realize that he was being followed by a Jet.

A Jet with a purple faction symbol.

~o~o~o~

Inferno had just signed his resignation, now all he had to do was hand the datapad to Prowl, but that's when he'd received a call. He should go with Red Alert to fix some cameras which had been damaged while their security director was absent.

It was the perfect opportunity to tell Red what had been on his processor. That he would resign his job as his bodyguard. Nobody had told the Lamborghini of his accident so far. Or who was responsible for it. Maybe they feared that their security director could crash, develop a new glitch or they just wanted Inferno to tell him, since it was his fault anyway.

Somehow the fire truck believed it was the latter.

He would have to clarify that. Red Alert deserved the truth. He'd been a coward for too long. Always persuading himself to drag out the inevitable. _'Later would be better'. 'He still needs to settle in'. 'He has his duty to worry about'._ Yes, those sounded much like excuses... again.

He had looked for excuses to act rash and irrational and look where it got him. And now, he was about to make the same mistake.

Inferno had prepared himself for the time when he had to tell his ex-best friend what had happened to him. And when he was mad at him, it would make his resignation so much easier.

However, when the fire engine reached the entrance, the Lamborghini was nowhere to be seen. It was strange, shouldn't Red Alert wait for him here? ...Maybe he'd heard wrong. It was better to check and comm. Prowl.

"Prowl? Inferno 'ere. Are ya sure Red's at tha entrance?"

"_Positive! Why?"_

Inferno cursed inwardly. Hoping he was wrong when he assumed the worst.

"Prowl, check Teletran 1. Mebbe Red left tha base already."

It took a breem before the tactician could answer him. Too long for the fire truck's liking.

"_Red Alert has left the base five breems ago. Alone! Inferno you have to go after him, immediately!"_ That certainly sounded urgent coming from the usually aloof Datsun.

"Is somethin' tha matter?" Inferno didn't like how tense the other sounded.

"_Teletran 1 caught a Decepticon signal close to the base and it's heeding towards the desert."_

'_After Red Alert!'_ Was his first thought, but Prowl's next sentence froze up his fuel lines.

"_Judging from the speed, it's a Seeker."_

Great, that was all Inferno needed to make his day really miserable.

Cursing out loud this time, he transformed and drove at top speed. Prowl sent him the coordinates of Red Alert's signal and contacted the patrol in that area.

"Red? Ya there?" Hopefully Red Alert hadn't switched off his comm. link.

...

"C'mon Red answer me!"

"_Inferno?" _

Thank Primus, at least he could warn him in time.

"Red, listn'! There's a Con close tah ya. Com' back tah base, now!"

"_What? Inferno, I ...hear you ...are you?"_

Scratch that, Inferno meant damn Primus when he heard static between the words. It usually meant a storm was coming and interfere with their comm. links. Bad timing!

Feeling a surge of panic rise, Inferno shouted into the comm. link.

"Red. Go back tha base!"

Silence was the only reply he got. He didn't know if Red had heard him or not.

"Red?"

...

Suddenly a loud noise filled his audios and Inferno slammed on the brakes in surprise. That sounded like someone had set an explosion right next to his audio receptors. It wasn't anywhere near him, but it came through the comm. link. Which meant Red Alert was in big trouble.

Inferno prayed to every listening deity when he raced towards the coordinates Prowl gave him. Hopefully he wouldn't be too late.

~o~o~o~

Red Alert's audio receptors were still trying to reset themselves when he was lifted into the air by one powerful servo.

"Exactly the scraplet I was looking for..."

Onlining his optics, the smaller mech got a good look at his enemy. From what he knew the blue Seeker in front of him went by the designation of Thundercracker. Why would a Seeker look for him anyway? Not really wanting to ask, he just gave him a confused stare.

"Don't play dumb with me!" The Decepticon shook Red Alert slightly.

"Tell me, ...what have you done with Starscream?" Thundercracker demanded.

Starscream? Red went through the enemy files once more. A good thing Ratchet had forced him to memorize these. Air commander and Megatron's SIC, also leader of their Seeker Trine. What should he have done to him? Well, maybe he hurt him in battle once and Thundercracker still held a grudge. Who knew? Decepticons were irrational after all.

"What ...are you talking ...about?" He squeezed out. The servo had a tight grip on his voice box.

The Seeker didn't seem amused by the question. Not in the slightest.

"I said, don't play dumb with me Auto-filth! He's been acting odd since you two worked together to get the Negavator! I want to know what you've done to him."

Red Alert's CPU was reeling. Working together? With the enemy? Get the Negavator? 'Steal' the Negavator? Was he really a traitor, like Cliffjumper once said? Whatever the Negavator was, it was important enough to try and steal it. But why should he ... fraternize with the enemy?

Thundercracker was a bit confused about the shocked look on the Autobot's faceplates. He did catch the right one, didn't he?

Of course he did!

The enemy was just messing with his processor!

"I'm not repeating myself. Are you just defect or did you already forget about that?"

'_Exactly'_ Red Alert thought, but it wouldn't do him any good if the Decepticons knew of his condition.

The blue Seeker really was about to lose his patience. Starscream had been acting strange, more so than usual. He wasn't paying attention, he didn't stay in the base for longer than necessary and if he didn't know any better, he'd say he was only out to look for something or someone. Whenever he tried to talk to the Air Commander, the other would just ignore him or avoid answering his questions about his whereabouts.

Putting two and two together, the jet came to the conclusion that it must have something to do with the Ark's fragging security director. And he was not happy about that. Starscream was useless and more dangerous for their trine if he kept daydreaming or drifting off like this.

Shaking him once more, he glowered at him.

"Well? I'm waiting,..."

But even after that, the Lamborghini remained silent. Fed up with this game, Thundercracker threw him violently to the ground. If the Dust Kicker didn't want to answer, there was still another way to solve this problem. Taking out a rifle, he pointed it towards Red Alert.

"Fine, be like that. ...I'll just have to put you out of your misery then!" Thundercracker released the safety hold and the weapon started to charge.

"Say 'Goodbye', slagger! "

"GOODBYE YOU SLAGGER!" Before Thundercracker could turn around, a whirlwind of red and yellow hurled him to the ground.

More out of instinct than real thinking, Red Alert crawled backwards away from the fight. Even though his optics were online, his processor refused to acknowledge the fact that his backup has arrived. All he could think about was what Thundercracker had told him. He was a traitor. He had worked with the enemy and yet he kept calling himself a security director?

He snapped out of his musings when he heard a familiar voice.

"Red? Ya ok?"

'_Inferno!'_

Inferno was here. He was safe. As long as he was near, nothing could hurt him.

The fire truck knelt down besides Red Alert shielding him from the still ongoing fight between the twins and Thundercracker.

It was mere luck that they had to patrol the area as punishment for their recent prank. Cliffjumper was still trying to get the glitter off his armor.

From what Inferno could tell, Red Alert wasn't really hurt. Just a few dents, nothing Ratchet would fuss over much. But the look in his optics was different. Suddenly Red Alert threw himself into Inferno's arms, trying to hide his face from the fire engine.

Confused about the situation, he embraced the distraught security director.

"Red? What's tha matter? The twins can take Thundercracker on, don' worry." But it didn't stop Red Alert from shaking.

As if on cue, Thundercracker managed to wrestle himself free and transform, fleeing the battle like a true Decepticon. Sunstreaker wasn't really too happy about that. He still wanted to kick something.

"Ah frag!" He cursed.

It was then that Sideswipe noticed their fellow Lamborghini in Inferno's arms, shaking like a terrified Glitch-Mouse. Elbowing his yellow brother slightly, he nodded towards Red Alert.

Inferno tried to soothe his friend. For a moment, he'd been sure Red's glitch had returned, but Red's horns were not crackling with energy.

"C'mon Red. What's wrong? Tell meh." It was like talking to a sparkling. However, Inferno was sure that Red was in a fragile state of mind right now.

Red Alert loosened his death grip, but didn't let go.

"Inferno, ….is it true?"

Inferno froze up for a second. What did the seeker tell him? What? Had he heard of Red's accident? And that he was at fault? Had the enemy known all this time?

"Wha' are ya talkin' 'bout?" Inferno's accent got really thick when he was nervous. …The old Red Alert would have known that.

"Did I,…I ….Did I really…?" Red couldn't even force the words out.

Ok, this had nothing to do with Inferno.

"Did'yah what?"

"Did I …team up with Starscream? Is that true? Did I try to ….steal the Nega …vator?" Red Alert stumbled a bit over the definition of the object.

The twins stood a bit aside from them, but still close enough to hear every word. They knew about the incident, but also that Red Alert was not at fault.

Now Sunstreaker really wanted to kill something. Preferably a seeker.

Inferno had heard enough. The next time he would cross paths with those seekers, he'd make sure it would be the last time. Red Alert had suffered enough, but he couldn't spare him the truth. The security director would go through the reports later if the fire truck wouldn't answer him now. It was better he heard this rather from a friend than reading it from a datapad.

Taking Inferno's silence as a polite confirmation, Red just hid his faceplates again. He couldn't bear to look into the red mech's optics. Not now.

"Listn Red, …it wasn' yar fault! Yah were glitchin' badly and Starscream took advantage of that. He knew ya'd believe him since yah thought we were agains' yah."

Red Alert took this in. Inferno would never lie to him, never hide anything from him. In his opinion, he was the most honest mech he knew, right after Optimus Prime. If this was true, then he was glad to be rid of said glitch.

He just hoped, he would never have the doubtful pleasure to meet the Decepticon's SIC again. Who knew what he would try to do to him the next time?

The security director had calmed down, but he was far from being relaxed. It was time for Sideswipe to throw his own two cents in.

"He's right, Red. That Fragger told you lie after lie and trust me, Starscream has mastered lying. Nobody holds you responsible for this. Not even Optimus Prime!"

Sunstreaker knelt down next to Red Alert, careful not to scratch his paint job. He wanted to comfort Red like the smaller mech had done a few times when Sideswipe wasn't talking to him because of their fighting. He just didn't know how to start or what to say. So, he said what he thought, simple as that.

"I believe many things. …That the Cons are stupid by nature, …that Cliffjumper should be scrapped …and that Mirage is in truth a femme. …But what I'll never believe …is that you'd be a traitor."

As simple as Sunstreaker's words were, they were really touching. Red Alert felt much better now that he was being comforted by those he cherished most.

He couldn't really help himself, he reached out to Sunstreaker and stroked the yellow twins helmet.

"Thank you Sunstreaker. …I really needed to hear that."

Through all that, Sunstreaker didn't protest or try to get away from Red. He just held still, much to Sideswipe's surprise.

The Prankster knew his brother resented the touch of others. You can look and admire Sunny's paint job, but Primus help you if you touch him.

He tried to ask Sunstreaker over their shared bond, if he'd become Mr. Nice-Bot over night. The only response he got was tense confusion. It felt as if his brother had been thrown off guard.

'_Bro? What is it?'_

…_._

'_Sunny?'_

'…_I, …will tell you later….'_ Now, he himself was thrown off guard. Sunstreaker hated being called by a nickname. No matter if it was Sunny, Sunshine or anything else. He wouldn't hesitate to correct or threaten a mech who called him anything else other than his designation.

But his brother didn't tell him to shut up or take it back and it was not like he was in a good mood either. Something Sideswipe found worrisome.

Red Alert stopped stroking Sunstreaker's helmet and let go of Inferno. Standing up, he felt as if nothing could ever get to him, not as long as his small family was around.

"We should go back to base. I hope they haven't sent a search party yet."

Inferno stood up, still a bit surprised at Sunstreaker's words. It was not every day that the yellow twin was comforting someone besides his own brother. If those two would always act around Red Alert like this, then the security director wouldn't need him anymore.

Now he was sure, he could hand in his resignation, knowing that those two would take care of Red.

"Yeah, …let's go back." Inferno agreed numbly. It had been a long day after all.

The two transformed, but the twins didn't.

"Come you two, what are you waiting for?" Red didn't know why Sunstreaker was still kneeling on the ground. Perhaps he had gotten hurt in the fight?

Sideswipe didn't know why his twin acted the way he did. The bond was wide open, yet he received no reply. Neither verbally, nor emotional. The red twin acted fast.

"Why don't you go ahead? We still have to finish our patrol or Prowl might give us another for ditching our punishment."

Still doubtful, Red Alert drove slowly back to base with Inferno right behind him.

When he was sure the two were out of audio reach, Sideswipe tried to approach his brother once more.

"Ok, Sunshine. …What's up with you? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have seen a spectral projection." From what the red mech knew, even the humans had something like that, they just called it 'ghosts'.

For a moment Sunstreaker remained silent. Then he stood up and turned towards his other half.

"…Maybe I have."

~o~o~o~

tbc.

I'm sorry for the late update, but FF-net wouldn't let me edit my story. Anyone else got that error message?


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine...but I want to have it. :(

**Author's note:** Okay, I'm back after a long hiatus. I had writer's block and to top it all my PC's mainboard got slagged. T_T R.I.P old friend. I had to look for a replacement. My buddy lent me his old _*cough*_prewar _*cough*_ PC. I'll soon buy a new mainboard and fix this mess. Thanks for your patience.

~o~o~o~

**Chapter 5**  
By Misty Mina

Prowl sighed when Inferno radioed back. It was close, but everything was fine now. Red Alert wasn't hurt badly, just a few dents not more.

Still, it could've been worse, much worse. Oh well, Ratchet would make sure to get the point across. The SIC had noticed how their Security Director had changed and it was about time to talk to him about that. However the twins had changed as well, but for the better.

Both were less aggressive and played less pranks. At first, Prowl thought it was only the calm before the storm, now he was sure it had something to do with their fellow Lamborghini.

Optimus had mentioned something like that. They needed someone whom they could trust. Someone who was neutral and would listen to them. They obviously found that in Red Alert which was odd. Perhaps now that Red Alert wasn't as unapproachable as he used to be, it was easier to talk to him about their problems.

But to every upside, there was a downside as well. Inferno had changed as well. He seemed more closed off and quiet. It was unlike him to act like that and it got worse with each day.

The fire truck wanted to talk to him earlier, but the incident with Thundercracker got in the way.

Surely he'll see him later, then he can still ask Inferno why he'd changed so drastically. Perhaps all he needed was a neutral listener as well, just like the twins.

~o~o~o~

"Are you sure? You are not just imagining things are you?"

"Absolutely! Do you think I'm defect?"

Sideswipe had listened to Sunstreaker's theory, but he couldn't really believe him. He had his doubts about this.

They were still alone in the middle of nowhere. After Inferno and Red had left, Sunstreaker had told his twin what he'd felt moments ago.

"Maybe, ... maybe you read too much into this. It ...just can't be..." He wanted to hope. Wanted to believe. But hope was a fragile thing.

Sunstreaker was quite fed up with his twin's doubts. He opened his side of their bond, letting his other half see and feel what he'd felt.

It didn't take long and the red twin looked like Prowl when he was about to crash. The hope, which he'd denied to believe in, showed in his optics. There was just one problem. Red Alert had forgotten everything. So even if Sunstreaker was right, it was not like it meant something to the security director now.

"So, ...how do we prove it? It's not like Red has a diary or something like that." Perhaps it was too good to be true. Sideswipe felt his hope dwindling down to nothingness again.

His brother had a point. How to prove the impossible? Telling Red what they suspected wasn't enough. The yellow Lamborghini thought hard, data streams racing through his processor in nano clicks.

Suddenly the solution was clear as day and it promised to be an ordeal.

He looked at his twin and let the thought cross over their bond. Sideswipe sucked air through his intakes and gave him a scared look.

"You are kidding, ...right? ...Right? Tell me you are!" It was no use trying to hide the terror he felt.

Sunstreaker shook his head. This was the only way.

"Sorry Bro, ...But the only mech who can tell us who Red Alert really is, ...is Ratchet."

They both knew this was a bad idea at the very moment, but it was not like they had a choice. Sideswipe cocked his head to the side.

"You do know that our safety time-out is not over yet!" This wasn't a question, it was more of a statement.

"Yes. Ratchet will offline us the moment we step into the med bay." Sunstreaker knew where this was going. The safety time-out was the time Ratchet needed to cool off. It was a measure of precaution.

"Because it's our fault that he had to get the glitter of Cliffjumper and in the end it was sticking to him as well!" Despite their situation it still got a chuckle out of him.

"I know, but do you really have the patience to wait until he no longer has the urge to turn us into toasters?" Sunstreaker knew Sideswipe too well.

"...no." Patience was never their strong side and Ratchet needed way too long to cool off.

"Then we have to take the risk. Besides that, we need to see him anyway."

This got the red twin's attention.

"You don't have a single dent, neither do I!"

The yellow Lamborghini sighed dramatically.

"No, ...but my paintjob looks horrible!"

~o~o~o~

The drive back to base was long and silent. Red Alert wondered if Inferno was a bit shaken from the encounter. The fire truck hadn't said a single word the entire time. It was, as if he was thinking about something important. If that was the case, Red didn't want to disturb his thoughts, but he was curious nonetheless.

Should he ask? He didn't know. Had he asked his best friend about his thoughts or had he backed off and respected his privacy? Some mechs just kept their thoughts to themselves. Maybe Inferno was like that?

There was only one way to find out what was on the other's processor.

Both transformed when they'd reached the entrance. Inferno seemed to be in a hurry to get away, but Red stopped him from leaving.

"Inferno..." He called out.

Said fire truck stopped walking, but didn't turn around. The poor Lamborghini wasn't sure what that meant. At least he'd stayed to listen to him. The only problem was, he didn't know what to say to him.

"I've, ...wanted to, ...thank you." He finished lamely. It wasn't what he wanted to say, he knew that.

Inferno's posture was rigid. Red Alert was about to say something else, but Inferno cut him off.

"Ya should've waited." He said in a monotone voice.

This was something he didn't expect. Was he angry with him?

"I, ...I know, but..." Red Alert didn't know what he should answer him. So he said the first thing that crossed his processor.

"...It was important." Yes that's right. The camera doesn't fix itself and it was his duty as the security director to keep everyone safe. It was not a lie. Not a sad excuse. It was his job. It was what he'd been build for.

Inferno whirled around, almost knocking Red Alert to the ground. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did Red Alert actually listen to himself?

"More importan' than yar life?"

Red could see the anger and frustration in Inferno's optics. He was sorry to be the cause of this, but a part of him was pleased as well. It meant that the fire engine was worried for him.

"No, ...No of course not. But..." What to say?

"'But' what?" Inferno challenged.

"I didn't expect to be ambushed. Who would?" Now this sounded just sparklish.

However it was partly the truth. He didn't think someone was out to get him. It was not like he was someone special. He was not Optimus or Prowl, or Jazz. Those three held the crew of the Ark together.

The more Inferno listened to Red Alert, the angrier he got. The old Red Alert would have expected it! This Red Alert was either not thinking or not taking this whole thing serious enough.

"'Didn't expect it?'" Inferno repeated incredulously. Something went wrong here. He should be the reckless one. He should be scolded for not thinking at all. When did they switch places? This was the point where his frustration won over his rationality.

"We'r at war fer Primus' sake! Isn' like tha Cons wouldn' hunt for'n easy prey!"

This started to escalate into a one-sided argument.

"Easy prey?..." Red Alert was shocked to hear Inferno say that.

"Yeah! Easy prey! 'Cause ya aren' careful. Ya don' care! Ya don' care 'bout tha consequences, yarself or anyone else!" Inferno snapped.

With that he stomped off into the base.

Red Alert stared after the retreating fire truck, still speechless from Inferno's outburst.

"But, ...I do care, ...about you..." He whispered absentmindedly.

~o~o~o~

Actually Inferno didn't mean to be so harsh with Red Alert. He was glad and thankful that nothing bad had happened to his best friend. Thundercracker would have offlined Red for good if it weren't for the twins.

He wasn't really angry with Red Alert. More of the fact that he wasn't the Red Alert he knew. This Red was someone who jeopardized his own life and the lives of others.

The old Red Alert wouldn't have been caught in such situations. Always so careful. Always worrying about the safety first. Worrying about others. ...Worrying about him. That's what Inferno really missed.

Perhaps if they weren't at war, he wouldn't even mind Red's behavior. On the other hand, he only knew the old, paranoid Red Alert and accepted him nonetheless.

He truly regretted all these times when he wished Red would 'lightn up'. His Codewriter had been so right. _'Be careful what you wish for, it might come true.'_

Thundercracker's attack made him understand one thing.

He wasn't fit to be Red's bodyguard!

He couldn't protect him. Not now and not when he'd lost all his data. The fire engine had to face the truth. He was unfit for the job. What in Primus' name was Red Alert thinking when he'd requested him for the position?

He knew, he couldn't work with Red Alert like this. Not if he kept comparing him to his past self. But he couldn't stop. The Lamborghini still looked the same, talked almost like he used to and still saw him as his friend.

He was Red Alert, ...just not ...his Red Alert.

Inferno had the urge to punch the wall, but maybe he should save his strength and put it to good use. For example when he would hand Prowl the datapad with his notice.

It was for the best. For both of them. End it before it could get out of hand. No matter how hard it was.

~o~o~o~

This was it. The lives of the twins Sideswipe and Sunstreaker would end as soon as they would step through this door and enter that Primus' forsaken place.

The med bay. Home of the most terrifying Autobot ever. Not even Ironhide was brave enough to enter it without a good reason.

Sideswipe turned around and tried to save his spark, but his other half had other ideas. Grabbing his red twin on his shoulder armor, the yellow Lamborghini walked briskly through the door and ducked the oncoming wrench a second later.

Which was a bad move since he didn't pull down his twin with him. Poor Sideswipe didn't even know what hit him because he got dragged backwards into this cursed place. But considering the room and the bot who worked here, he guessed it was a really big and heavy wrench.

"Sorry Sides, ..." Was Sunstreaker's sheepish apology.

Ratchet stood in front of them with his arms akimbo in all his terrifying glory. No doubt, even Megatron would be intimidated by the sight.

"You two, ..." He started, then grabbed another wrench out of his subspace. Really, how many did the medic keep in there?

"...have a death wish!"

Sunstreaker held up his servos, trying his best to calm the medic down.

"Wait Ratchet! We are damaged!" Well that wasn't exactly a lie.

Giving those two a scrutinizing look the white bot scoffed once.

"You both look fine to me. I don't see you knocking on Primus' door yet."

"But my paintjob is ruined. Doesn't that count?"

"Oh yes, because a ruined paintjob is worse than having scraplets right?" The medic mocked.

"Finally you see my point." Sunstreaker knew this was the wrong answer when the wrench hit him between the optics.

Sideswipe, who had recovered from the first wrench, tried to placate Ratchet before his twin could get them kicked out.

"Ratchet could you, at least, listen to us for a moment? We need your help."

The twins wanting help other than repairs? That was new for Ratchet. He couldn't imagine they needed his help with a prank. They knew he wouldn't hesitate to haul their afts into the brig.

"Will you leave me alone then?" There was still much to do and he preferred a quiet med bay.

"Of course!" The red twin promised quickly.

This was all the medic wanted to hear. He leaned against the next berth in a relaxed manner.

"Fine, what is it? New upgrades?" Not that they would get them. At least not without Prime's permission.

Both stood up from the floor where they'd been sitting. Ratchet should consider to participate in battles more often. Those wrenches were dangerous.

"Uhm no, we, ...wanted to ask you something." Sunstreaker started hesitantly while rubbing his new dent.

The white bot nodded once, prompting them to continue.

"It's about Red Alert." Sideswipe finished.

"You do know that I can't tell you anything, right? Medical confidentiality!" He reminded.

The twins looked at each other. Sideswipe gave his other half a doubtful look, but then shrugged. It was worth a try.

"We just wanted to know how old Red Alert is. We thought you would know since Red wouldn't remember it anyway."

This surprised Ratchet. Why was Red's age so important? Well, this information didn't concern the medical confidentiality, did it? But he was still curious.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked suspiciously. Every information could turn into trouble in their servos.

Sideswipe had a panicked look on his faceplates. He thought either Ratchet would tell them or kick them out. Now he wanted to know what they thought? He would assume they were processor dead.

Sunstreaker was much more composed than his twin.

"Since we don't know, ...we think that Red Alert may be our Codewriter."

~o~o~o~

Inferno stood in front of Prowl's office. It was now or never. He just had to hand in his datapad, the SIC couldn't refuse it. So why was he still standing there? He'd made a choice! To distance himself from the security director! So why was it so hard to carry out this decision?

The fire truck remembered the time when Red had been shot. When he'd been in the med bay for weeks and when he'd woken up and had lost everything, even himself.

This was his doing. It was time to repent for that. To make it better.

With renewed resolve, Inferno went through Prowl's door without knocking or making his presence known. The SIC sat on his desk, not even bothered by Inferno's sudden intrusion. He'd already guessed that the shadow, which had been visible under the door, belonged to the red mech.

"You wanted to talk to me Inferno?" Prowl inquired in his usual calm manner.

Nodding once the fire engine pulled the datapad out of his subspace. Then slowly, almost reluctantly, placed it onto the desk.

"I'm here to hand in my resignation."

Prowls optics would be wide with surprise, if that was actually possible. Never ever, since knowing Inferno, had he heard him without his accent. This had to be serious.

"I can't accept your resignation without a good reason. Did something happen?" Prowl hadn't accepted the datapad yet. It still lay innocently on his desk, ready to be taken back if Inferno had a change of spark.

"I've noticed that I'm no longer qualified for the position as bodyguard." Inferno hadn't noticed his change of speech.

...Still without accent. Prowl guessed it was his way to deal with uncomfortable situations. He was tempted to ask why the fire truck thought that, but he doubted he would get an answer. Besides that, he'd told him a good reason. If Inferno thought he wasn't qualified for the job, there was nothing Prowl could do.

Yes, as SIC he could force him, but that wasn't the way things were done on the Ark. That was Megatron's way to handle things.

"And who will be sufficient for your job from now on?" Prowl had to at least try to change Inferno's mind. Not many were suitable for this position.

"The twins. Since they are on good terms with Red Alert now, I don't see any reason not to trust them with the job. They're the best frontliners after all. ...An' only tha best is good enough."

Prowl almost didn't catch the last sentence. There was the accent! Although, it sounded more like an afterthought and perhaps didn't belong there. A glimpse of Inferno's true reasons, not the reasons he'd apparently learned by spark.

The Datsun wasn't really good with emotional things, but he assumed the other still felt guilty over Red's data loss.

It was no use. Inferno gave him a good reason and nominated the twins as substitutes. There was nothing he could do. Prowl took the datapad, but had an optic on Inferno's reaction. There was something but he couldn't say what. Relief? Regret? Disappointment? To Prowl's battle computer this information was of no use. So he couldn't really read it.

"...Sometimes, ...the best is not what one needs." It really wasn't. Prowl knew what he was talking about.

It was a good effort on Prowl's part, but it couldn't sway Inferno's resolve. Not anymore.

"Thanks, but ..." Inferno turned around to leave, but didn't walk away yet.

"...Ya can't miss, ...what ya cannot remember." With that he left a speechless Prowl behind and went back to his own quarters.

~o~o~o~

tbc.

I wanted to write more, but I had to bite my tongue to not curse and shout at the slow PC. I need more speed! _(Speed-Junkie)_ Not spending half an hour for it to open, another to save it and another half to look up different words! Ok, I can already hear you saying _'This chapter makes no sense!'_ It will, don't worry. Just wait. ^^ The next update will have to wait until my new mainboard arrives.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Mine? _...*everyone*_ NO! ...Oh how mean! _*sulks*_

**Author's note:** Okay, I have a new mainboard. It still has a few bugs, but they have nothing to do with my writing. As some may know, I'm sick, so that means I get some work done. ^^

~o~o~o~

**Chapter 6**  
By Misty Mina

Red Alert had made his way back to his own quarters. He hadn't greeted or talked to anyone. He had to get away.

When he'd closed and locked his door, he leaned with back against it.

Easy prey? ...Was that all he was? Small, weak, unable to take care of himself? Was that what Inferno saw in him? Someone who was selfish and didn't care?

Red Alert slid down to the floor, still with his back against the door. There would be a red streak later, but that was the least of his worries now.

What? What could he do so that the fire truck would like him? He was not a fighter, he couldn't change his altmode into something sturdier. He was made for speed.

It just hurt. His frame, his spark, ...everything. His frame from Thundercracker's attack and his spark from Inferno's outburst.

He was a better mech now, wasn't he? No paranoia attacks, no conspiracy theories, ...no more misguided decisions. He was normal! So why wasn't that enough? What was the other looking for?

...Perhaps ...it was because he was a mech? Red had heard rumors about Inferno and a femme called Firestar. But he thought those were just rumors nothing more.

He shook his head. No, he was assuming things now. Nothing would get done by sitting on the floor moping around. First things first. He had to go and see Ratchet for repairs, then he could still think about other things.

...But, ...it couldn't hurt to stay a bit longer. He just couldn't bring up the energy to move.

Later, he could go out there and pretend nothing had happened. Pretend that he wasn't hurt. ...Just a few more breems and he will be fine. He had to, ...or he would fall apart.

~o~o~o~

Inferno sat on his berth thinking of what had occurred a breem ago.

He'd done it, ...he'd resigned his position as bodyguard. Inferno was now a mere soldier like many others. He could participate in battles more often and coordinate some of the rescue missions. He should be content.

It was the right thing to do. Red Alert had now two bodyguards and Inferno could fulfil his own purpose, which was being a member of a rescue team. So everything should be alright now. ...Right?

So why did it feel like he'd betrayed his best friend?

There it was again. The nagging feeling of doubt. He should really stop it. This had become a habit.

He did the right thing!

He should just lay down and rest. Prowl would send him his new schedule later. It wouldn't do him any good to be exhausted when he would start on his new tasks.

Laying down he started to boot down for recharge. However, his systems had other ideas. His processors kept him online and his hard drive was showing him images of Red Alert with a hurt look on his faceplates over and over again. The same hurt look he had when he'd asked him if he'd really stolen the Negavator. When he was about to break down.

No, Red Alert wasn't a traitor. He'd been vulnerable at that time. Enough for Starscream to take advantage of him. It was not his fault.

But Inferno had no excuse. No glitch. No one manipulated him. It was all on purpose. All his own doing. The Negavator incident, Red's data loss and now his own resignation. So, did it mean he had betrayed Red's trust in him?

No! No, no, no!

Red couldn't remember. Couldn't remember their friendship. Couldn't remember the time they'd spent together. All these times when he'd made sure Red was still online after three shifts of monitor duty. Always pulling him away and making sure he got some rest. All these moments when Red would finally relax a bit, just enough to talk and smile at him.

No, Red couldn't remember, but Inferno could. And that fact hurt more than anything else.

So what if he was chasing a memory, a spectral projection of the past? It was his to chase and to remember, his alone!

~o~o~o~

There was an unusual sound coming from the med bay of the Autobot base. Bots, who happened to pass by, stopped for a moment and wondered what it could be and if Optimus or his SIC should know about this. But nobody really dared to go inside to find out. Shaking their head and deciding to forget that strange sound, they just walked away.

Most likely Ratchet's 'tender and careful nature' finally claimed it's first victim. Someone whose processors were caught in a hysterical loop. The poor patient.

However they weren't really wrong. Someone was caught in a hysterical loop. ...One of hysterical laughter.

The twins stared at their CMO with shocked faceplates. They'd never heard that sound from the usually grumpy mech and even thought he was incapable of it. Ratchet was on the ground still laughing like someone had programmed a silly virus into him.

It took awhile for him to calm down, but he did. Although a smirk remained and still remained when he'd thrown two more wrenches at them.

They, of course, hit their target, since said targets were still caught off guard.

Sideswipe rubbed the second dent. This time it was a bit over his left optic.

"Ow, ...what was that for Ratchet?"

Still smirking the medic got up from the floor.

"For trying to offline me. You almost succeeded."

Sunstreaker hissed when he touched his own dent on the right sight. Trust the medic to manipulate the flight path of his wrenches by will alone. If he hadn't seen, ...and felt it, he wouldn't believe it.

"But we didn't try to offline you. We really don't know who our Codewriter is."

Ratchet didn't believe them, who could blame him? The story was unbelievable.

"Still, why Red Alert? What makes you think such nonsense?" Ratchet asked.

So, that meant Red Alert wasn't their Codewriter. Sideswipe should have known it. His brother was always the one who clung onto those memories, more than himself. Clinging to something that was just gone.

Sunstreaker got up and gave Ratchet one of his few serious looks. The red Lamborghini knew that this hurt him more than he showed.

"Our Carrier, Swiftwind, has never told us who our Codewriter was. She had always been secretive about this." It hurt to admit the truth, but perhaps it was time to do so.

Sideswipe stood up as well, taking a bit of his brother's strength over their bond. That strength was something Sunstreaker had and something Sideswipe had always admired about him. There was no use to cry, scream or mourn about things. It wouldn't change the situation. It wouldn't make it better.

It wouldn't bring back lost sparks, it wouldn't turn back time and it won't turn their future for the better. No, they had to act to change anything! It was a hard lesson, but Sunstreaker had learned it and lived by it.

It made him hard and seemingly uncaring to others, but Sideswipe knew better. It was his iron will to drive forward and not to look back.

So following his example, the red twin continued where his other half had stopped.

"Swiftwind had died in the war and so we assumed that either our Codewriter was already dead or had died in the war as well. But when we spend time with Red Alert, ...it brings back ...some memories."

Finally Ratchet understood what the twins were on about. They were getting flashbacks from their sparklinghood and Red Alert was the cause.

He'd studied about that when he was just an apprentice himself. Apparently those flashbacks were part of the core programming. When a sparkling's processors starts to calibrate themselves, then the first impressions the sparkling experienced would be stored into the main hard drive.

Perhaps the twins weren't malfunctioning after all. They just had the wrong explanation for their flashbacks. But that designation, ...Swiftwind, he was sure he'd heard it once. It was familiar. She'd been probably one of the many war heroes who'd sacrificed their spark for others.

"I can assure you one thing. Red Alert is 'not' your Codewriter!..." Ratchet never thought that seeing the twin's crestfallen faceplates would actually make him feel guilty.

"...But, ... flashbacks have always an origin." He continued.

This confused them greatly. ...So Red wasn't their Codewriter and yet he still was the cause nonetheless?

Ratchet sighed. This was annoying him. Were they so dense or did they do this on purpose?

"It's true that Red Alert is older than you two, but not so much older. Did it ever occur to you that you may had a sparklingsitter? A youngling perhaps? Because really, you two can be a servo full, you know?"

Suddenly everything started to make sense. Maybe Red had been their sparklingsitter in the past. Now they felt a bit silly for thinking he may be their Codewriter. But at that moment it sounded like a good explanation.

The CMO was just glad that they didn't insist on their theory. It was not uncommon, he could relate to them. He'd also never known his own Codewriter personally, but at least he knew his designation. Which was more than the twins had.

"Good, was that all?" Ratchet asked shortly.

The twins nodded, because for the moment they couldn't think of anything else. Ratchet couldn't restore Red's hard drive and they doubted Red would remember it anyway, even if he still had his memories. This was just so long ago.

"Then..." Ratchet took another wrench and smacked it in the palm of his servo. A threat the twins knew too well.

"...Out! ...Now!"

Not really too keen to try the medic's patience once more, they left as fast as they could. They weren't Lamborghinis for nothing.

'_Those two...'_ he thought, still shaking his head at their idea.

Suddenly an explosion rang through the base and Ratchet knew this wasn't an enemy attack. This meant two things for him. Work and ...more work.

'_Wheeljack you stupid, malfunctioning...'_ He better not finish the thought or he might blow a gasket before he'd seen the real damage.

~o~o~o~

"Phew, ...for a moment I thought we'd get a third dent." Sideswipe was visibly relieved that they made it out in one piece.

"Yeah, but my paintjob is still a mess." Trust Sunstreaker to still complain after being almost slagged by the medic.

"No worries Sunshine. Leave that to me. Primus knows I've fixed your paintjob more than once."

"...Uh huh, right. ...You fixed it 'twice' in your whole existence. And don't call me 'Sunshine!'"

The twins were in their quarters, bickering like nothing had happened at all. Of course they'd heard the explosion, but as long as Wheeljack was online, then this was nothing unusual. He was overdue anyway.

Pouting Sideswipe turned to his brother who stood in front of his personal mirror. Well, it was not much of a mirror, more like a metallic wall which had been polished to the point where one could see their reflection clearly. This was Sunstreaker's own corner of the room.

"Don't you trust me?" He asked pitifully, trying to pull the hurt Turbofox optics on him.

Turning in front of the 'mirror', Sunstreaker looked at his twin's reflection.

"'Sides, I trust you with my spark ...but not with a brush and paint."

It was no use. He had to take off his armor and repaint it himself. Hopefully the Cons would stay low for the time-being.

There was a ping on their comm. link, which told them about an incoming message. It was from Prowl.

What now? They'd finished the patrol which was meant to be their punishment for the glitter-prank. They opened the message and had to read it twice before actually understanding what it meant.

"...Sunny,..." Sideswipe started.

Too shocked and angry at the same time, Sunstreaker ignored the nickname. It was a new schedule which said they were Red Alert's bodyguards from now on. At Inferno's request! To say Sunstreaker was mad was the understatement of the year.

"Where is that blasted fire truck?" He snarled.

~o~o~o~

It took a while to dig Wheeljack out of the debris. Luckily he wasn't badly damaged. Although, his right arm and his legs have seen better days. Ratchet knew it was a matter of time until one of these explosions would be the last for the engineer. But somehow the other wasn't really concerned about this.

That didn't mean the medic didn't have to worry about him. So when it came to his old friend, he made sure to chew him out while he repaired him.

"Honestly, one day you'll make cold H2O explode. What, in Primus' name, did you do this time to get so slagged? Do you even know how fragging long it takes to repair your arm alone?" Ratchet was really not in a good mood.

"One, I did that already. Two, it was just a small experiment and three, I guess it takes a cycle, maybe two?"

Ratchet had to replay his own words before Wheeljack's gibberish made sense. He'd made cold water explode, ...he shouldn't be surprised.

Wheeljack knew this was the wrong thing to say when Ratchet yanked at his arm and started with the repairs without turning the pain receptors off.

"OW, Ratch' ...could you, ...OW, OW!"

"Sit still and bear with it!" The medic hissed.

How could a single, stupid mech cause so many problems for him? Didn't Wheeljack know by now that back-talking was the wrong thing to do when he was at a disadvantage?

But that was just him, wasn't it? The Lancia was a brilliant engineer and at the same time so stupid when it came to taking care of himself. Couldn't he see this was important as well?

Ratchet was many things. Bad-tempered, moody, cynical and much more, yet he wasn't sparkless.

"Why don't you tell me about that experiment?" As long as the inventor could talk about his projects, he would be happy. A small distraction from the current pain. Ratchet was not nice enough to let him off.

"Ah that! Good that you mention it. I wanted to talk to you about that anyway, because I need your medical skills for this." Wheeljack was a genius and at the same time simple minded. He'd already forgotten about the pain Ratchet had caused and was still causing him.

It wasn't often that the engineer needed his help with anything. Mostly, it was the other way around.

"My skills? What did you invent and more importantly, ...will it explode when I look at it the wrong way?" No, the CMO was serious, because this had happened once, just not with him. It was Jazz.

The circuitry in Wheeljack's arm wasn't as badly damaged as he'd assumed. Perhaps his new armor finally paid off. He hadn't changed on the outside, but the material was different. Hopefully his legs were in the same state as his arm.

"Not going to happen. It's not really an invention, more some kind of code I've stumbled over...OW!" Did the medic have to be so rough on him?

"Don't tell me the code caused this explosion. That would be a new record, even for you."

Now Ratchet was missing the point here.

"No, not like that. I think, we got our wires crossed here."

Wheeljack's left leg seemed to be fine. The damage was superficial. This lightened Ratchet's mood slightly.

"Details." He demanded. If he'd been annoyed, he would have muted the engineer's vocalizer by now.

"The code was on a broken datapad, which Red Alert gave me to try and repair it. It seemed important to him..."

"Red Alert?" Ratchet just had to interrupt him. Red Alert had never mentioned that.

"Yeah, I thought those were security files or something like that, but it wasn't. It's a code and from what I can see, some of these glyphs belong in your special field."

Some files required special coding. Either those files were strictly confidential or dangerous. A military code could be read by Optimus, Prowl, Jazz, Ironhide and Red Alert, but not by him. But a medical code could only be deciphered by him or First Aid.

"That still doesn't explain your presence in my med bay." He really doubted a datapad was responsible for this.

"Oh that. You see, there was something else in that datapad. First I thought it was a lose screw. But really, I've never seen anything like this before. And when I connected it to my scanners, they exploded all at once!" He was really excited over this.

Ratchet had a hunch now of what had happened in the engineer's lab.

"...Wheeljack." He started.

"Hmmm?"

"Did you really use all scanners at once?" He asked carefully.

"Uh huh." If the optics were any indication, than Wheeljack was smiling happily under that mask.

"...All fifteen?"

"Yeah. Why do you a-OW" The sound of a wrench hitting a helmet rang throughout the med bay.

"You ...half-cocked...Gas guzzler!" Now Ratchet was insulting the Lancia's altmode.

The medic put his wrench away. Sometimes he asked himself how Wheeljack had survived for so long.

"The scanners got the readings of each other and with fifteen different devices operating at once, it means that one scanner gets fourteen different readings back. No scanner can handle that!"

"Oh, ...hehe, ...no wonder they exploded." Now the inventor felt really embarrassed. How could he forget that?

Sighing Ratchet finished the other leg as well. He only needed to fix a few circuits and some relays. The self-repair systems could handle the rest. It could've been worse, ...much worse.

"Anyway, what about that code? Do you have it with you? Or do we have to dig through that mess you call a lab?"

"No, I have it right uhm, ...uh, ...one sec. ... Here!" The Lancia had to search through his cluttered subspace.

He handed a new datapad to Ratchet. Once the medic saw what kind of code it was, he opened the deciphering program.

"Hmm, ...it's a CC. No wonder it's coded." The CMO mused.

"What's a 'CC'?" Wheeljack's medical knowledge covered a bit more than the basics, yet sometimes, it wasn't enough to follow the medic's trail of data.

"A Creation Certificate. When a Spark comes online, the Creators and the date are registered. Hence the certificate. But, ...how did Red Alert get his servos on that? Those files were stored in the medical databanks on Praxus. Most files could be saved, but many were lost when Praxus fell. ...Oh Primus!"

This got Wheeljack's attention.

"What? Something the matter?"

"I was wrong! They are related." Ratchet closed the program quickly.

"What? Who?" The inventor couldn't follow him anymore.

"Red Alert and the twins!"

~o~o~o~

tbc.

Oh, oh. Sunny's on a warpath. O.O Hide quickly! I was about to finish this chapter right after Sunstreaker's outburst. (He scared me.) But then, I thought it was too short and wrote more. Maybe if you squint you can see a hint of RatchetxWheeljack here. ^^

And please check out my other fanfics. as well. (also my 100 prompt challenge) Thank you. ^^


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** Is that really necessary? _*All Autobots nod* _..._*sighs* _Fine, fine. Transformers belongs to Hasbro and will never be mine. T_T

**Author's note:** Sorry it has been sooo long since my last update. Real life has been a pain in the aft. Now with X-mas around the corner it's even worse. I wanted to end the story with this chapter, but it was just not possible! So there will be a chapter 8 and perhaps a chapter 9.

Now I want to write a reply to my anonymous reviewer.

at: Too much talk not enough plot:

I appreciate constructive criticism. But you obviously have no idea what you're talking about. Of course I can tell you the plot on one page, but then it wouldn't be a story. Not every line should be focused on the plot alone. The charas are what this story is about! Yeah, I can make the twins obedient, make Ratchet say Yes and Amen to everything and have Wheeljack make an invention that works just fine. A smooth plot! And then?

Yes, then they'd be out of character. For your information, this is called: Character development! Their behavior makes this story alive and not a boring report! And I think, I have a good guess on who you are. Let me tell you one thing: This was low! Even for you!

Please on with the story before my veins explode.

~o~o~o~

**Chapter 7**  
By Misty Mina

A distraught Lamborghini stood outside of Inferno's quarters. His vents were trying to get enough air in to cool his engine down after he'd run here at full speed. Different thoughts were going through his processor. Why? Why would he do that? Why would he, ...just give up?

Red Alert got the new schedule for the week as well and when he saw that the twins had replaced his bodyguard, he felt like the floor would give in beneath his peds.

He needed answers. Now! Ratchet and his repairs could wait. First he'd pinged him, but Inferno didn't respond to that. So he knocked.

"Inferno?" Red called.

Still nothing. Was he avoiding him? ...Probably.

Even though it was not an emergency, Red Alert used the security override code to open the door. If the fire engine wouldn't talk to him willingly, then he would have to force him.

Inferno sat on his berth and judging from his dimmed optics, his thoughts were elsewhere. No wonder he hadn't heard the ping or the knocking. The Lamborghini approached the other slowly.

"Inferno?" He tried again, louder this time.

Startled by his visitor the fire truck flinched before focusing his optics on his friend.

"Red? How..." But Inferno stopped himself. He already knew the answer to that. Security override code! Had he really been so deep in his memory files that he hadn't even heard him enter his quarters?

The red mech shook his head. This encounter was long overdue. He should be prepared for it, but truthfully ...he wasn't.

There was an awkward silence. Neither of them really willing to break it. Breaking it meant changing the situation for the worse. Inferno looked down at the floor, trying to ignore his friend's gaze on him and yet, he could feel these blue optics on him. Confused and questioning him.

Red Alert didn't know what to say. Inferno was clearly uncomfortable with this. But tiptoeing around the subject wasn't going to get them anywhere. There was only one thing Red wanted to know.

"Why?" He asked, almost whispering it.

Inferno almost didn't catch the single worded question. It sounded so, ...broken. Guilt was rising in his spark. How was he supposed to answer that. What could he say to make him understand? To make him see that this was for the best? It was for him. For Red's sake!

Silence was the only response he got. No! He wouldn't take that for Inferno's final answer, so he tried again.

"Why?" He asked more urgently and louder this time.

"Why what?..." Inferno could already guess what Red meant.

The Lamborghini raised his servos up only to let them down a moment later in a helpless manner.

"Why did you resign your position? Why the twins? Why ...are you doing this...?" _'...To me...' _

It took a few kliks for Inferno to find the right words.

"I ...was neva a good bodyguard. Not now, not eva. ...The twins are betta than meh. They can 'andle tha job."

Red was taken aback by these words. What was the fire truck thinking? Had he gone down the path of depression without him noticing it? Some friend he was...

"Inferno that's not true! I couldn't wish for a better bodyguard. The twins are nice and great frontliners, but I doubt they could do a better job than you..."

The red mech couldn't stand it. Not Red's words, but the amount of trust in them. It was suffocating him.

"Wha do yah know?" Inferno asked sharply and stood up in one swift move. Red Alert knew nothing! ...Literally.

This startled the other. "I, ...I..." Red stuttered. Why was his friend so angry all of a sudden?

"If it wasn't for meh, yah wouldn' 'ave tried tah steal that slagging Negavator! Neva would 'ave work with Screamer! Wouldn' 'ave been injured! YA'D STILL 'AVE YAHR DATA!" Inferno couldn't take it anymore. This open trust from Red, this innocence towards him. It was killing his spark, slowly and painfully.

When he came here, Red Alert expected many things. But never an outburst like that. He was frozen in place. Was that all true? Was Inferno just blaming himself? But, ...how, ...why,... It seemed like the questions were piling up instead of being answered. No, Inferno was being too hard on himself, that's what the whole thing was all about.

"That's not true! Don't blame yourself. You didn't..."

"I DID!" Inferno cut him off before the security director could reason with him.

They stared at each other. One not believing what they heard, the other trying to get the point across.

Inferno sighed in defeat. This would cost him dearly. But it had to be done.

"Each o' those times. ...I went agains' yahr orders. Ya told meh tha stay, ...and I left mah post, ...mah place besides yah. Yah told meh, tha go with yah and I went tha other way. ...Both times, yah got injured ...and almost deactivated. ...Som' bodyguard I am."

The confession was slow and each word shattered Inferno's confidence to look into Red's optics. He could imagine how the Lamborghini looked at him. With horror and disbelief. Not that his own reaction would have been any different. If he'd just heard that his supposed-to-be best friend had forsaken him more than once, he'd be horrified too.

He hadn't noticed that he looked down at the floor, not until small servos diverted his gaze up to meet the cerulean optics of the security director. But they were not looking at him with the expected horror or contempt. Instead there was understanding and something the fire truck would call affection.

To be honest, Red Alert had been surprised and yet he was glad. Now he understood the other's behavior, even though he couldn't remember what had happened back then.

Everybody made mistakes, some were grave, others weren't. To him it didn't matter what the fire engine had done, that much he knew. From what he'd been told just now, his old self had seen something in Inferno. Or he wouldn't have stayed with him. Red would be stupid to let him go because of past mistakes. Just looking into his deep blue optics told him of the shame and guilt the other was feeling.

"Don't I get a say in this? What if I don't want anyone else?" There was no annoyance or accusation in Red's words, just warmth and gentleness like rays of sunlight.

The question stumped Inferno. Had he ever asked? No, ...he just took matters into his own servos. But Red was a living, sentient being, with an own will and the freedom to make his own decisions.

"Even if this is all true, you're still here! You were there when I woke up, you helped me settle in, you comforted me and you care enough to get me the 'best' protection. What more could I ask for?"

The red mech was speechless. Had Red just forgiven him? Even if everything had been his fault, he still wanted him to be his friend? This was too good to be true.

"Don't look so surprised. ...If it wasn't for you, ...I wouldn't have seen my own mistakes."

What was that?

"Wha' do yah mean?" Inferno asked bewildered, still gazing into his friends optics. What was Red talking about? He'd never done anything wrong! Not in his optics.

"I mean, ...I have changed. For the better! ...I'm not that paranoid glitch-head anymore."

Suddenly the fire truck jerked his head back out of Red's hold. Scratch his last thought! Now he'd done something wrong. How dare he say something like that? Even if it was about himself? No one! Not even Red himself had the right to do so. Those cerulean optics had hypnotized him. Drawn him in and convinced him to forget everything except the two of them. He'd almost forgotten why he'd distanced himself in the first place.

Because this was not Red Alert!

Not the ever careful security director. Not his friend. Not his precious charge!

For a moment Red had thought Inferno finally understood that he wanted him and no one else. But then the other had turned around. Now he was giving him the cold shoulder. What? What did he say to upset him so much? He just said the truth, didn't he?

"Inferno..." He reached out to him, trying to turn him around. As if feeling his intention, Inferno stepped forward and out of reach.

"Don't ...jus' don't." It was not a command, it was a plea. For what he didn't know. Don't come closer? Don't say anything anymore? Don't call his designation like that?

'_Don't pretend to be Red.'_ His processor helped out.

Frustration took over. Red Alert felt close to crying. Why couldn't Inferno just say what he wanted or what he was thinking? Why did he act like that?

"Why?" He cried desperately. "What is it you want?" Was it time? To figure this out? More attention?

Anything!

Red would give him anything.

A stupid question, really! Why couldn't Red see it? Wasn't it obvious? He had lost his own friend, ...his Red Alert. The one who relied on him. The one who looked out for him, ...for everyone. Who didn't take him for granted. Who made sure to put others safety before his own. Who threw himself into his job with passion just to make sure that the Cons didn't kill them in their recharge.

Inferno turned around. He'd reached his limit. Enough was enough.

"Wha I want? Yah really wanna know?"

Red Alert could only nod, too speechless and confused to do anything else.

"I want 'my' paranoid glitch-head back!" Inferno hadn't noticed he'd forsaken his accent to get his point across. Too angry, too frustrated and actually also too distressed to care.

With that Inferno stormed out of his own quarters. He just couldn't bear to be close to this, ...this ...imposter anymore. He meant every word of it, not even being embarrassed or ashamed that he'd claimed the old Red as 'his'. Slag it all, he was 'his'! His friend. His charge. His everything!

The smaller mech couldn't believe his audios. Had his crush just chosen his old forgotten self over him?

Yes he had...

It hurt.

Inferno liked him and also didn't like him at the same time. This not only hurt his spark, it also hurt his pride, his self-esteem and his processor.

Red Alert's peds were about to give in, when he heard the noise. There was something going on in the hallway. As security director, it would be his duty to check up on it, but at the moment he really didn't feel like doing his duty. He felt more like clawing his spark out in agony.

But that changed when he heard Sideswipe's voice. He couldn't make out the words, but it sounded panicked. The twins were in trouble and needed some help. Perhaps they got into a fight with Ironhide again. Those two, ...they would never learn. Thankful for the small distraction, he ignored his emotional pain and ran down the hallway.

~o~o~o~

It was no use, Sunstreaker couldn't be reasoned with. Sideswipe had his servos full with trying to stop his raging brother. Unlike his twin, he wanted to talk to Inferno first. He could still beat him up later if it was justified. But as usual, his personal 'Sunshine' chose the old-fashioned way to solve this problem. Hit like a mad truck and ask questions later.

The red twin did everything he could to calm his other half down. He went even so far as to stay in his path. A really stupid thing to do. Which was of course in vain. If Sunny was on a warpath, nothing could stop him

Sideswipe couldn't even comprehend his brother's anger. All he felt over their bond was raging fury. It felt like Sunstreaker's side of the bond was growing with whirling energy, ready to explode and be unleashed on an unfortunate victim.

In this case Inferno.

Just what in the pit had him so riled up? Not even fighting against the worst of the Decepticons had him so uncontrollably mad.

He had lost sight of his brother for a klik while they'd raced down the corridors in their alt-mode. A yellow flash and a red shadow on his heels.

"Sunstreaker! Don't!" He called out to him, hoping he would hear him.

When he heard a crashing sound it could only mean one thing.

Sunstreaker had found his target and was ready to eliminate it.

Sideswipe followed the sound and found his angry brother slamming his prey against the walls of the hallway. Judging from the surprised look on Inferno's faceplates, the fire truck must have been caught off guard. Or else he would have tried to fight back.

With a roar, Sunstreaker's first real punch hit the red mech's midsection. Inferno doubled over, trying to calm down his fuel tanks. The second punch landed directly on the left faceplate. The third, the fourth and fifth blow where aimed at different parts of the torso. Quick, strong and hurled in a murderous frenzy.

This had to stop!

Sunstreaker was serious and ready to tear the other's spark out.

Sideswipe transformed and threw himself at his brother, trying pull him away. But his other half didn't even seem to recognize him, he just threw him off. The red twin was not a weakling and normally, he could easily keep up with his brother. Yet he was thrown off as if he wouldn't weigh anything. He accessed their bond again, but he couldn't get pass the whirling madness.

"Ok, Sunshine, you leave me no choice."

He took a few steps back, then ran towards his twin only to tackle him to the side and away from Inferno.

Sunstreaker hit the floor hard with his brother on top of him. Sideswipe's worries were confirmed when a screeching and whirring sound came from the fire truck. His brother wasn't a frontliner for nothing and knew exactly were to hit to cause great damage. He stood up and was by Inferno's side in an instant.

"Hey, Inferno. ...C'mon say something!" The red Lamborghini was about to panic.

Inferno's faceplates showed nothing but pain and something was leaking out of his side. Also his engine sounded like it was about to give up. This was bad! If Prowl heard of this, both of them would be thrown into the brig and never see the light of day again. Fighting was one thing, but trying to murder a member of your own faction was much worse.

Sunstreaker got up. So Sideswipe was against him now? Well if it was like this, then his dear brother would suffer the same treatment! Blinded by rage, he moved to attack his brother. He didn't hear the pleas from his other half through their bond and maybe he didn't care.

"Sunstreaker..." Sideswipe couldn't believe it. His own brother, his other side, was about to attack him.

The yellow frontliner had lost the soft blue color of his optics and it was replaced with a hostile violet. When Sunstreaker lifted his right arm, ready to strike his own sibling, a red and white blur came right between them.

"SUNSTREAKER STOP!" Red Alert yelled, standing with outstretched arms in the yellow twin's path.

Sideswipe saw only Red Alert's back, ...but something was so ...familiar about that. Clutching his helmet something came up from the depths of his hard drive. Something he didn't want to remember ever again. He shook his head trying to get rid of it. No, he didn't want that. Didn't want to remember. But it came anyway.

_He was crying. Why? Why did he do that? What had he done? The small sparkling held his servo. It still hurt were the bigger mech had smacked it away. That dark yellow color gleamed in the dim light of the room and it made the small sparkling shake in fear._

"_LEAVE HIM ALONE!" There was another voice. He knew that voice. It belonged to someone he trusted. Chirping, he called for help in his own way._

_Someone stood between him and his tormentor. Shielding him with their frame even though he was not so much taller than the sparkling._

"_Don't touch him! I take his punishment!" _

_It seemed like this pleased the big mech. He lifted his arm to strike the smaller one. The silver sparkling just couldn't watch. Hiding his optics in his servos he just heard the noise. _

_Each slapping sound, each metallic clang made him flinch. And when it became silent, he didn't dare taking his servos away. He was in the dark. He was invisible now and it would stay like that. Don't look! _

_But, ...sparklings were naturally curious, so he took a tiny peak between his small fingers. His savior was lying on the floor not moving a bit. _

_It scared him. _

_Clicking softly, he crawled over the floor towards his hero. When he reached him, he patted his helmet, trying to get a reaction out of him. But when there was no reaction, a small agonizing whine left his vocalizer. He was about to cry again when a servo stroked his faceplates. Looking up his savior was awake and smiling at him._

"_Don't cry. I'm fine. ...It's ok." No, it wasn't. The sparkling saw the pink fluid running over other's faceplates. It meant he was not fine. That much he knew. _

_Suddenly he was picked up and cradled in his hero's arms. _

"_As long as you two are save, ...I'll be fine."_

It was too much. The memory messed up his data stream and his processor couldn't handle the emotional impact. Sideswipe's systems shut down and he crashed to prevent any more damage, just like Prowl's battle computer.

Meanwhile, Sunstreaker didn't move an inch. Red Alert was there, right in front of him. Telling him to stop,...but why? Wasn't he the one who had been betrayed by Inferno? And now by Sideswipe as well? He thought he was fixing the problem. If Inferno was too blind to see what he'd done to Red, then he didn't deserve him! And his dear brother happened to be in his way. So, he had to deal with the consequences!

Suddenly, the yellow twin felt the emotional pain and the crash of his other half through their bond. The rage he'd felt dissolved into thin air. The pain cleared up the haze which had blinded him through his rampage.

He recoiled in pain and agony. Spark-twins shared not only the same spark, they also shared the pain. While in battle, they could focus. Each of them blocking the bond. That way, even if one was heavily injured, the other wouldn't feel it. But now, the bond was wide open.

The yellow frontliner sank to the floor clutching his helmet the same way his twin had. It took only a few kliks, then he crashed as well.

Now Red Alert didn't know what to do. What in Primus name had happened just now? Sunstreaker was, ...no, had been in a rage. Sideswipe was trying to help Inferno and had crashed. And Inferno had been damaged badly, most likely by Sunstreaker.

And now?

Now, the twins were out and Inferno was about to go into stasis lock. Not really able to handle the situation alone, he followed protocol and opened his comm. link.

_"Prowl, we have a situation here. I need Ratchet, Wheeljack and Hoist in hallway B-265 immediately!"_

~o~o~o~

"The two slagheads should be fine and Inferno's damage looked worse than it actually was."

Ratchet had just finished the repairs on the fire truck and left the twins in First Aid's care. The smaller medic had enough practice with crashed CPU's, (Thanks to Prowl.) it was no problem at all. What really puzzled him was that the two crashed almost at the same time. He would have to ask for the reason, ...maybe he could use it to shut those two up if they became too much again, who knows?

Red Alert took this all in with an absent look on his faceplates. It made the CMO wonder what the other was thinking. But he guessed Red was as confused as he himself was. Just what had happened in that hallway? From Inferno's injuries, he could tell this was Sunstreaker's work only. Sideswipe was not part of it. Which meant the twins weren't thinking the same thing or were having a dispute. Unusual in itself. Ok, they argued ...a lot, yet they always agreed when it came to fighting.

Red's silence was annoying. Now really, the old Red Alert would have thrown the twins into the brig by now. There was nothing! No anger, no fussing over the fire engine, not even the threat to never let 'those pranksters' out of the brig ever again.

"A Cred for your data"? Ratchet asked. But was met with a puzzled frown. Obviously, Red had forgotten some basic things as well.

The medic's systems gave a hiss of air, which could be either interpreted as a sigh or a huff.

"I mean, what are you thinking about?"

At first, it seemed like the security director didn't want to tell him. But when Ratchet was about to leave Red to his own thoughts, he heard the unsure voice of the smaller mech.

"I'm confused, ...and ...I think this ...is my fault." Red's voice was soft, almost guilt-laden.

"Why do you think that?" Now this was something Ratchet hadn't expected.

The Lamborghini glanced to the side at the berth were Inferno lay, then looked back at the CMO.

"When I heard the noise, I thought the twins were in trouble. But when I arrived, ...Sunstreaker was about to strike ...his own brother. When I tried to stop him. ...They both crashed."

This was something Ratchet couldn't explain either. Sure, there were occasional fights, but nothing too serious. If Inferno's state was any indication, then Sunstreaker was about to take his twin apart.

Ratchet was so deep in his thoughts that he almost failed to hear Red's question.

"He'll be fine, won't he?" Looking up, the medic saw that Red's gaze was on the recharging fire engine.

"Yeah, he will. Our Sunshine here, did some damage to Inferno's water tanks. It wasn't lethal." What Ratchet didn't mention was that it could have been much worse if the water had flooded the spark chamber instead of the vents. No use in agitating Red.

The treatment in itself was easy and painful at the same time. Removing the water tanks was easy enough. The painful part was to get the water out of the vents and engine. He had to sedate Inferno for that or he might have bolted out of the med bay.

Ratchet gave the water tank a scrutinizing look. It would take a while to search for the cracks and to repair them. Perhaps Inferno would be better off with a new one. Sunstreaker certainly knew where to hit even when he was furious. Which brought him to the next question.

"Say Red, do you know why Sunstreaker lost his temper?" If the fire engine was a minibot, Ratchet wouldn't even have to ask.

"Perhaps, ...because of the new schedule, but I'm not sure."

A new schedule? Sunstreaker rarely paid attention to the schedules. Most of the time, he didn't even care what his duty was, except when it could possibly ruin his paintjob. So why, ...wait a second. It was just a guess, but maybe...

"Did Inferno quit?" It was blunt, short and right to the point. Typical for Ratchet.

Red Alert resembled a gaping fish, but eventually got a hold of himself.

"Did Prowl tell you?" That was the only explanation.

The medic had to resist the urge to take his wrench and smack the fire engine silly. He leaned slightly against an empty berth right next to him.

"No, ...but I know my patients." He answered in a weary voice. How was he supposed to tell Red what he suspected?

Whatever Ratchet had to say, Red was listening. His attention was focused on the tired looking CMO. If anyone knew what was going on with Inferno, then it would be the medic in charge of the med bay.

"Red,..." He started.

"Inferno is a... practical mech. If things work, they work! If they don't, then he makes them work, ...or so he thinks. He doesn't really question why, how or what. ...That goes for everything. His duties, his life and relationships." Ratchet chose his words very carefully.

Red nodded hesitantly, not really sure if he fully understood or liked what he was being told. It was good enough for Ratchet.

"What I mean is, ...Inferno makes things more complicated by trying to solve them in his own way. ...Something went wrong and he is trying to fix it. Without really thinking of the consequences. In short, he is his own, greatest enemy on this planet!" Ratchet crossed his arms over his windshield. Hopefully he got the meaning across.

In some strange way, it made sense. Inferno avoided Red. Did things he wasn't asked to do. Made decisions by himself without asking anyone for advice. But this revelation brought up a new problem.

"So if he doesn't really know what he is doing, ...then how do I find out?" It was complicated, but he had to know. He just had to.

Oh Primus slag him, this was harder than Ratchet thought it would be.

"That's not the point! He knows what he's doing. He just thinks that everything he does is right, even if his basic programming says differently. Inferno's lying to himself and actually believes it. And that's where the problem starts."

A beeping interrupted their discussion. It came from the twins, mostly from Sideswipe's berth. Ratchet walked over to them and checked the monitors. The lines on his monitor showed that they would wake up any klik now.

"Right on time." Ratchet muttered.

~o~o~o~

Sideswipe heard Ratchet's voice, but at the moment, the only thing on his processor were his memories and his twin who was calling out to him over their bond. He opened his side and let his twin in, curious to see what the other wanted from him. He felt a wave of guilt and apology, Sunstreaker was sorry for his actions, but didn't dare say it out loud.

"_Sunny..."_ He tried.

"_I'm here."_ Came the immediate reply. He didn't even seem to mind the nickname. Another sign that Sunstreaker was just as distraught as he was.

"_I've seen him!"_ His brother had to know.

The yellow Lamborghini had felt Sideswipe's terror and fear, but he hadn't been able to see the reason. Sideswipe had to share the memories out of his own free will.

"_Who?"_ Normally a dumb question, but he really didn't know whom he meant.

_"...Red Alert. He was there Sunny. He was with us!"_

Sideswipe sent his own, newfound memories to his brother. He still shuddered in fear of what he'd remembered.

After seeing what Sideswipe had experienced, Sunstreaker understood his other half's feelings. How? How could he have missed this? Why couldn't he remember? Where had he been?

He felt his red twin slip away from his own consciousness. A sign that Sideswipe was about to enter the online mode. He followed slowly almost hesitantly and he only knew why, when he came out of recharge. Because as soon as he onlined his optics, he was greeted with a wrench to the helmet. ...Well he guessed he deserved that, so he didn't complain.

Ratchet stood next to his berth, waving his wrench in a threatening way.

"Now, tell me one good reason why I shouldn't hand you to Prowl! It's bad enough that you tried to scrap your brother. But what were you thinking when you attacked Inferno? Ah wait, let me guess. ...You weren't thinking at all." He almost hissed the words out.

This wasn't good. Ratchet was angry and he had every right to be. Sunstreaker sat on the berth and hung his helmet in shame. No back-talking, no angry outburst. He accepted everything.

Red Alert approached the angry CMO.

"Please Ratchet, I think this is enough. We won't get any answers like this." Protecting him like he did with Sideswipe? Sunstreaker couldn't think of a reason why he deserved such kindness. The old Red Alert wouldn't have listened to his excuses, much less stand up for him. He had to admit that in some twisted kind of way, he missed the old Red Alert. The yellow mech knew how to deal with harsh words, the brig or any punishment Red could've dished out. But he didn't know how to handle so much kindness.

To everyone's surprise, Ratchet actually did back down.

"...Fine. Just this once. I think there is something we all have to discuss. Right, Sideswipe?"

The red twin had a traumatized look on his faceplates. All Ratchet had to do was to put two and two together. If Sideswipe had a 'painful' flashback, then Sunstreaker had been caught in the resulting, emotional backlash. Perhaps it was the only thing that could've stopped Sunstreaker's rampage.

"But first things first!" Ratchet knew what he was doing. Sideswipe was not ready to take another emotional blow yet. He needed distraction and his twin as well.

"You two!" He pointed at the twins.

"Go to the storage room and get me a few cubes of medical energon, low and high grade. At least ten cubes of each!"

This time, Sunstreaker did protest.

"What? This will take us at least a cycle!" Each of them could only carry four cubes at once.

"So? See this as punishment! I want 'all' cubes in my med bay and this in one go. Meaning, you'll walk only once!" It meant Sunstreaker had to pick up a few cubes, walk with them to the next hallway. Then drop them, walk back and get the rest, until he had all cubes in front of the med bay.

This caught Sideswipe's interest as well, since the CMO mentioned the both of them. He pointed to his twin. "Why do I have to share his punishment?" It was meek, but still a protest. The medic made it sound like he had attacked Inferno as well. It was quite the opposite and this was the thanks he got?

Ratchet gave the twins a smug look.

"What? I thought twins shared 'everything'? So now, you will share the punishment as well!"

Red Alert frowned and tried again to placate Ratchet.

"Is that really necessary Ratchet? Sideswipe tried to help." He pointed out. Why was Red so pit-bent on protecting the twins? He was acting like one of those overprotective femmes who spoiled their sparklings rotten.

Oh no, Ratchet could only be persuaded once and this was when he didn't chew out the yellow racer like he deserved.

The medic pointed to the ground. "My med bay, " He started, then pointed to himself: "My rules!" For Ratchet, the discussion was over. The twins had no other choice than to agree. If not, then the grouchy mech would tell Prowl in every detail why Inferno wouldn't be on duty for a while.

Grumbling they both got up from their berths. The sooner they got this done and over with, the sooner they'd be of the hook. When they left the med bay, Ratchet chuckled slightly.

"This will keep them busy for a long time. So, ...I remember you asked me something. About how to get that slagger of a fire truck to talk."

Red Alert could only nod dumbly. How come Ratchet was able to change his mood in a matter of kliks? Had he always been like this?

The medic walked up to Inferno's berth and took a syringe out of his subspace.

"Have you noticed that whenever someone just blurts things out, in fear, panic or anger, ...it's always the truth?" He readied the syringe.

When Red recalled their argument in Inferno's quarters, he had to agree with Ratchet. But what was he trying to tell him? Wait, what was that syringe for? No, he wouldn't...

"Don't you dare drug him!" He commanded sharply. As security director he stood with Ratchet on equal grounds, or even higher.

"It's not a drug. It's more of an antidote for the sedative." Ratchet was shocked that Red would actually consider that he as CMO would hurt his patience, ...badly. Well, Ironhide was an exception, but it was necessary. Otherwise, he wouldn't stand a chance against the weapon specialist.

"...You wake him up?" Surprise was written all over Red Alert's faceplates.

"Not quite. He'll be semi conscious and slip into recharge again later. The sedative affects his data stream. He won't be able to lie to you or himself. To lie, ...he has to think." Ratchet gave him an evil smirk. "So, ...we won't give him the chance to think! High grade has the same effect, but I prefer this method. No processor ache the next day and no energon poisoning. He'll fully wake up later and think it was all a dream."

Ok, now he knew what the medic, ...the evil medic was trying to do, but this still wasn't right.

"Wouldn't that be like, ...taking advantage of him? I mean, he doesn't know what he's saying!"

Ratchet growled a bit in frustration. Where was the Red Alert who hoarded blackmail material to keep them all in check? He pointed the needle of the syringe in Red's direction.

"Listen, you want answers and here is the chance to get them. You don't have to tell him that you know and you'll understand what he's thinking. Then you can work from there and fix this mess. I'm getting a processor ache already from seeing you both racing around the subject."

Red Alert's faceplates heated up. Was he so obvious? Apparently... So what to do? He was dying to know everything, but it still wasn't right. Then again, if he didn't do anything, then everything would stay the same. Maybe even worse after Sunstreaker's attack.

What to do?

Letting out a huff of air, Red nodded his consent. Inside he felt horrible for doing this, but it was really his last resort. He didn't want for things to remain awkward between them..

Ratchet injected the antidote into one of the main tubes in Inferno's neck. Then he put the syringe away and went to the doors of the med bay. What was the medic up to now?

"Where are you going?" Red Alert asked confused. Didn't Ratchet want to stay?

"Wheeljack needed my opinion on something. What, I don't know, but I hope it doesn't blow up. The twins won't be back for awhile, so this will give you some ...'privacy'." With that the medic left the med bay and went to Wheeljack's lab.

Red Alert stared at the closed doors. Now he could understand the patients who wanted out of the med bay as soon as possible. This felt like being in the brig. Well, he dug his own grave, it was only fair that he dealt with this alone. Turning around, Red saw how Inferno's optics flickered on and off as he was about to wake up.

~o~o~o~

The storage room for the medical supplies was squeaky clean and Ratchet always made sure it stayed that way. However, it didn't make the punishment any easier for the twins. The cubes were behind a few boxes of medical tools. They had to move everything out of their way before they could get to them.

An odd silence filled the room. Neither of them wanted to start a conversation. Sideswipe because he was still shocked over what he'd been through in his sparklinghood and Sunstreaker because he couldn't believe he'd acted this way. Livid, unreasonable, ...abusive. This was what hurt the most. Without knowing, he'd acted like the one who'd abused his brother. Who was he anyway? Their Codewriter? It had to be like that. That would explain his own behavior.

He was the same. Aggressive, uncontrollable, a coward who struck others, ...an abuser.

Like Creator, like Creation.

He had apologized over their bond, but only emotionally. Usually, this was ok for Sideswipe and yet, this felt more hollow than anything else, at least for Sunstreaker. This, ...was not good enough, not this time. Making up his processor, he walked over to his twin.

Sideswipe had just moved the last box out of the way when two arms wrapped around his shoulders from behind. The sudden touch made him jump slightly, but he calmed down instantly. It was his brother. Only his brother. He was in the base, he was safe, ...he had an adult frame.

He knew, snuggling or tender touches weren't in his brother's nature. Yet here he was, being embraced by his other half like ...like ...a scared sparkling. He reached up and gripped Sunstreaker's wrist joints, anchoring himself to his twin.

"'Sides..." Sunstreaker started.

He spoke in a soft voice, not even trying to mask the guilt he felt. Sideswipe was listening. It was rare for his yellow twin to talk after they had a fight. Last time he'd just run off, not bothering to show up for a whole earth day. What he heard next shocked him more than the memory had.

"...Forgive me." The yellow Lamborghini buried his helmet in his twin's shoulder.

Not: 'I'm sorry' and not 'I didn't mean to'. Not the common apologies one would say and Sunstreaker usually didn't say any of them. He was not asking, he was begging for forgiveness. Something Sideswipe was so sure his brother wasn't capable of. Until now.

The red bot tightened his grip on the wrist joints. Not enough to hurt his other half, but enough to tell him that he understood. He relaxed and leaned his helmet against Sunstreaker's.

"...I always do." He felt the arms around him tighten as well in response.

Sunstreaker didn't know what he did to deserve a brother like Sideswipe. But whatever it was, he better made sure to keep it up.

~o~o~o~

tbc.

Twins-cutiness! *_* I must admit there are times when I'm jealous of twins. I want a twin too! (But my Dad says the world couldn't take two of me. XD ) The story is still going on and I hope I'll see my loyal reviewers next year as well.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** Is that really necessary? _*All Autobots nod* _..._*sighs* _Fine, fine. Transformers belongs to Hasbro and will never be mine. T_T

**Author's note:** Guys put the guns down. Now! _*All Autobots put their guns away* _Phew. Crisis averted. Ok, I guess you thought I was dead. No I'm not, I just ...got ...distracted. By Animes. By Fairy Tail. by Skyrim and Darksiders 2 and by all the super cool Yandere Animes out there. (I just love it when a cute happy-go-lucky girl goes psycho on everyone. XD ) Sorry for the wait. I'll try to finish this story with chapter 10, ok?

~o~o~o~

**Chapter 8**  
By Misty Mina

It was not the first time he onlined but the first time when he felt so light and relaxed. Inferno felt like he could just float away. Like air, like time, ...like a fantasy. Well lately, reality hadn't been kind to him. Maybe he should enjoy this while it lasted.

That's when he noticed his friend besides him. Red Alert sat right next to him with a half guilty and half scared expression. It didn't suit him. Paranoid yes. Even mad as pit would be fine. Did something happen?

"Whaz up, Red?" Was it just him or did his voice sound really different? His accent wasn't usually that bad.

However his slur was forgotten when the other smiled slightly at his antics. Much better. Still not right but much better.

"Nothing Inferno. I'm... glad you're ok. I was...so worried."

Somehow, ...these words sounded different to the fire truck. As if Red was unsure how to act around him.

Well, on the other hand, he was not really in the right processor to judge his friend's behavior. This felt like the time when he almost got himself slagged by the Seeker Trine. In that time he'd been drifting between on- and offline. Not really sure what was real and what not.

"Iz ok. 'M fine. Nothin' Ratch' couldn' fix." Inferno hoped that the mentioned CMO wasn't anywhere near them. Or he might walk around with a dent on his helmet for a week or two for giving the grouchy medic a nickname.

"Speaking of Ratchet... what do you think of him?" Red Alert sure had strange questions today. But since he was still in one piece, it meant the medic wasn't within audio range. Now what to answer him?

"Iz tha greates' slagger on zha planet... But zha best medic in zha 'hole galaxy." Ok, that wasn't really what he'd wanted to say. Not that it wasn't true... Oh well, no use thinking about that now.

At first Red was shocked and yet, he seemed pleased with his answer.

"Good to know. Say Inferno, ...why did you..." The Lamborghini pressed his lip components together. As if not sure how to formulate his question.

"Why whaz?"

"Why did you...quit? Just like that?" An accusation. A stab of personal hurt.

Oh right. Now he remembered. He'd quit his job. But he did it to protect him not to hurt him. Right?

"'Cause I couldn' protect cha... but zhat was tha impress cha!" Did that actually make sense? And how come he blurted things out like that?

Stunned into silence, the security director just stared at him. If the fire engine would have taken the time to think of his words, he might have phrased them better. Covered it up somehow. Or lied again...

Before Red could ask another question, Inferno started to blurt out his thoughts. Like they'd been occupying his hard drive for too long. A burden which had been ignored but not forgotten.

" Ah know 'm worth somethin'! Good 'nough fer cha! 'Cause yah chose meh, out o' zhem all, fer tha job." Frag, why couldn't he just mute his vocalizer? His processor kept telling him to shut up, but his lip components didn't obey. They were also not repeating the words he'd so carefully thought of for these kind of situations.

Red Alert put a servo on his shoulder joint to calm him down.

"I did,... didn't I? It means that you are good enough. I don't want anyone else! So why, ...why do you want 'him' back?" Was Red Alert confusing things now? Oh he was too tired to ponder over that.

Inferno's lip components were moving before his processor could catch up. Something inside him understood what exactly Red meant. The past he was chasing after. The other, who had looked out for him. When had he switched places with his charge? From protecting to being protected?

"He cares!" A simple answer for a simple question.

"'bout each an' everyone. ...Workin' day an' night tha keep uz all save an' soun'. Doin' more zhan Prime even. Neglectin' 'imself fer uz. ...Mah Red is... kind, protective, loyal ...loveable." Inferno wasn't sure if he said what he said or didn't. Maybe it was all in his processor and maybe Red wasn't really here.

Optimus was a good leader, but the truth was, he would never accomplish what Red Alert had been doing for all these stellar cycles for them since he'd joined the Autobots.

The smaller mech's optics lit up for a moment before they dimmed in understanding. He stroked lightly over the fire truck's helmet in a soothing manner, lulling him into recharge again. A movement his frame knew by spark and which had slipped his processor.

"...I see." It was faint, almost not audible, but it was still an admission of defeat.

~o~o~o~

Ratchet peeked cautiously around the corner. He was almost there. Wheeljack's lab wasn't so far away from his med bay. For the engineer's own good, of course. Sighing, he prepared himself to go in. The last explosion had been yesterday, but it had been unusually quiet since then. Much too quiet!

There weren't many things that could scare him. But being confronted with a new and probably unfinished invention from Wheeljack was just as terrifying as meeting Megatron in a dark hallway. If he had to choose, then Ratchet would prefer an encounter with the Decepticon leader. At least he knew what to expect, which couldn't be said for anything that came from his friend.

Just when Ratchet was about to move, the door to the lab opened. However, nobody entered or came out. Then the door slid close again. It didn't take a high-level processor to figure this one out. There was only one Autobot in the whole base, who could come and go as he pleased.

'_Mirage?...'_

The Spy in Wheeljack's lab? Normally he would avoid that place. Too dirty and perhaps too dangerous for the Noble. Ratchet had to find out what was going on! Those two alone. That thought didn't sit well with him.

Making up his processor, he practically stomped to the door. When it opened, he saw his friend and the, now visible, Towers mech standing close to each other. For some reason this really got to him.

"Am I interrupting something?" He grumbled.

Startled they turned to look at him. Wheeljack held something small in his servos. Now the medic felt a bit silly for his unreasonable anger. Perhaps it was an upgrade for the Noble. It seemed the engineer hadn't even noticed his best friend's mood, but Mirage had this knowing look in his amber-colored optics.

"Nope, I've been waiting for you. I just needed Mirage's opinion on this." Wheeljack held up the small item.

Now this caught Ratchet's interest as well. It was obviously not one of Wheeljack's projects. The Lancia didn't have the fine motor skills to make something so small. He would always give the blueprints to Perceptor, who made double sure that the invention was save enough before he would get to work on it.

"What is that?" Ratchet asked while he came closer.

To him it looked like a tiny cube. He was sure he'd seen this item before. Just where?

"This is a device to process Zetta Bytes and keep them for later use."

Wheeljack's explanation was hard to follow. He tended to turn easy things into complicated matters. Thankfully Mirage knew what the engineer was talking about.

"It's a hard drive."

This stunned the medic. Their own internal hard drives were large, no external device could keep up with that. For the cybertronian kind, these things were comparable to human voice recorders. It made sense for organics to have those things, but for them, this was even more useless than a toy for a sparkling.

"Why would anyone need a private, external hard drive?" Ratchet mused.

Mirage chuckled lightly in his own educated way.

"Nobles often had these devices. Apparently, some couldn't be 'bothered' with too much information. So to keep their own hard drives manageable and clean, they simply came up with these external hard drives. They're like data pads with a big core memory." Mirage knew that most of his own people had merely been showing off with these things. The cubes were made of expensive materials and only Nobles could afford them.

Wheeljack went to his desk and connected the hard drive with his own computer. If there were any viruses, then his computer would find them even before Teletran 1. ...Or at least it was supposed to do that.

"Say Wheeljack, where you testing this yesterday when your scanners exploded?" Ratchet just had to ask.

"Uh huh. That's what I was talking about. ...You know, the thing inside Red Alert's data pad?

The medic had to recall their discussion and yes, Wheeljack had mentioned something like that. But at that time he was too angry and distracted to think about the other's words. So, this small thing was inside the data pad.

The computer gave a few beeps, indicating that no virus had been found.

"Pick a file and open it!" Trust the medic to have no inhibitions whatsoever.

Wheeljack wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do.

"Ratchet, ...we should tell Red about this first." It was tempting, but at the same time it felt like intruding on Red's privacy. Or reading someone's journal pad. It felt wrong to open these files without the Lamborghini's consent.

The CMO snorted in disdain.

"Good idea! We go and ask him, if we can open the files on a hard drive which he doesn't even know about."

"It's his data pad and his cube after all..."

"So? It's only in his best interest!"

Through their bickering, the spy had been ignored and forgotten. That was until he decided to speak up.

"If I may interrupt?"

Both turned towards the Noble, only realizing now that they hadn't been alone. Seeing he had their full attention, Mirage told them what should have been obvious in the first place.

"You will have to inform Red Alert, one way or another. Because, since the current Red hadn't discovered the cube and knowing our 'old' security director, I would say these files are coded anyway." He just couldn't suppress a sly smirk.

Was it just them or did this feel like being hit by a ton of bricks? Mirage had a point there. But Ratchet wouldn't be the stubborn medic he was if he wouldn't at least try to prove him wrong.

"We'll see about that. Wheeljack, open a file!"

The engineer looked a bit lost. Should he listen to his friend or comm. Red Alert first? The grouchy medic's patience was wearing thin.

" 'Jack, don't force me to order you around!" As Chief Medical Officer he was in rank clearly above the engineer. The only ones higher than Ratchet in the chain of command were Jazz, Prowl and Prime himself.

Defeated by rank, the Lancia complied reluctantly. The file opened, but what came out was what one expected, one hoped wouldn't show and one was unsure about. The numbers and glyphs of the code were gibberish to them.

The CMO felt the urge to pull out his antenna.

Damn Red Alert and his paranoia. Mirage was right as usual, yet the spy didn't really look too smug about it. However, as member of the special ops team, the blue and white mech knew partly what to look for in a coded file.

"This is definitely a security code and if I remember correctly, numbers overlapping the glyphs means it's a map or card file."

What all three failed to notice was the fourth mech among them.

"...It's a layout plan of the Ark's hidden security cameras."

Red Alert was right behind them and his processor had automatically decoded the plan on the monitor. What was going on? Were did they get the files of the Ark's security system? All he wanted was to tell Ratchet that he was done. With everything and nothing at the same time. He had accomplished something and yet it wasn't what he expected.

Ratchet did a metaphorical reset. Again he got his hopes up for nothing. The paranoid Red had stored his security files on that cube and hid it within the data pad for safekeeping. Clever, if not a bit overdone and useless. The CMO doubted that Red's potential successor, would' have found the small thing or even known what it was.

Thinking about it now, if those cameras were hidden, wouldn't that mean Red Alert had to download the plan from his own memory core? He sure as pit wouldn't have told anyone such important things. Not even Inferno. Ratchet's head snapped up. He turned to the spy, who thankfully was still in the room and didn't take the security's director's appearance as his cue to leave like he usually would.

"Mirage! Do you know how these cubes work? Uplink? Programm? Auto?" The urgency in the medic's voice didn't slip the Noble's attention.

"The very first models had to be programmed, but it didn't take long and they were out of fashion. The next generation was easier to handle with an uplink. We threw the old ones out with the trash."

Wheeljack could slightly follow his friend's trail of data. The only way Red could have gotten hold of such an expensive toy was if the Tower's Nobles had thrown it out. It would mean that this was a first generation model. So what? Red wouldn't be the first garbage mech who made it into the higher Autobot ranks.

The Lamborghini was confused. Here was a plan of the Ark, a cube as it's source and three mechs who were talking in riddles.

"What are you talking about?" He really wanted to know!

Ratchet stepped away from the computer to make space for the smaller bot.

"Red, do yourself a favor and encode all of these files."

He had to blink once, ...twice and yes the medic was still looking at him expectantly. He was serious! A favor? For himself? What kind of favor was that? A quick glance at the monitor told him the amount of data he had to encode.

"...This would take cycles." A long, very long time indeed.

Ratchet knew no mercy, neither with the Cons nor with his own patients.

"Then I suggest you get your gears going. Now! And Mirage you...Mirage?" True to his designation, not a trace of the spy or that he'd been in the room just a second ago had been left. Ratchet hated it when he did that.

"Grrr, fine! I'll do that myself then!" With that the medic stomped up to the door. Wheeljack felt a bit left out. A data storm had taken place in Ratchet's processor and he wanted to hear what it was about. His fins lit up in confused white when he held the CMO back.

"Uhm, Ratchet, what's up? Where are you going?"

"I go get a few files and the Terror Twins. You keep an optic on Red and make sure he's busy decoding everything! I'll be back later."

With that the CMO left the lab, leaving a dumbfounded engineer and a stressed and unhappy security director behind.

~o~o~o~

After a long time of searching through Teletran 1 and the historical data of Cybertron, Ratchet had found what he was looking for. If everything went well, they'd have not only their old security director back, but the twins would have a part of their family back as well. And of course, Inferno would have his charge back.

In the medic's optics, the fire engine was a foolish afthead and thankfully a persistent one. Granted, if the red mech hadn't been so stubbornly clinging onto the past, then maybe this whole fiasco wouldn't have happened. But many important facts would have slipped their attention as well.

Perhaps Primus had listened to Inferno's prayers.

The only thing left to do was to gather the information in one neat package. In the end, he could only tell them what he'd found out. The rest was up to them. But mostly to Red Alert.

To go back to his old ways, or to continue on a new path. Whatever he would choose, they'd have to accept his decision. Even if that meant that some doors wouldn't ever be opened and the secrets behind them would be forgotten forever.

~o~o~o~

tbc.

I hope there are still readers left. If not, I'm to blame I know. ^^ Mina gets easily distracted by new things. Sorry. T.T


End file.
